Revelations of the Daughter of the Sun
by LadyCeruleanBlue
Summary: 'Passion,' my brain automatically thought, 'a powerful emotion such as love, joy, hatred, or anger. Strong sexual desire, lust. Ardent love. Fire could be considered passion.' Strange, how one's view could change in such a short time.
1. Washed Up

**Well, here you go! Part II of III, although you don't have to read the first part to understand this. If you don't feel like looking at "The Beginning of the Daughter of the Sun," then Zuko and Iroh will explain her a little bit through their points of views. The rest you might be able to figure out a little on your own.**

**Updates will be ONCE A WEEK. (Its exhausting to do it more than that guys, sorry!) I'll choose...Saturday(:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I've kind of run out of things to say as to _why_ I do not own it, so I'm not going to put anything witty here. I just don't own it, mmkay?**

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**Washed Up**

A bathhouse stretched over a wide river. Blossoming cherry trees filled the countryside, while the sun rose sullenly in the background. Iroh was lying on his back while receiving a massage from two attendants. He looked around, and saw his nephew sitting to the side with his face concealed by a hat. He was wondering where Emiko was, and wondered if he should go after her or not.

Most likely not.

She had just lost her father, and knew that she was feeling extreme pain. It was always hard to lose someone. And even if she didn't admit it aloud, she loved her father. He may have been a horrible tyrant who didn't know how to _be_ a father, but he was still hers. Admiral Zhao was not an easy man to get along with, but at times, Emiko knew how to handle her father.

After the battle in the Northern Water Tribe, Emiko, the daughter of Admiral Zhao and the Sun Spirit, Amaterasu, had shut down. She hadn't spoke a word, even to herself, and hadn't bent a single flame. Her eyes had even lost their usual luster, and looked like normal Fire Nation eyes instead of the intriguing yellow that they usually were.

"Ahhh…" Uncle sighed as he tried to float off into a state of relaxation. He knew that thinking of the negative things would only bring bad things to them in return. "This is what I've been missing. Who knew floating on a piece of driftwood for three weeks with no food or water and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver could make one so _tense_?" Seeing the angered look on his nephew's face, he decided that it would be best to talk to him. Almost reluctantly, he got up, walked, and sat next to him on the floor; he knew what was wrong. "I see…it's the anniversary, isn't it?"

It was horrible, what had happened. He hoped that the bond between Zuko and Emiko could help take some of that pain away. There was something between them; that something had shown at the North Pole. Iroh had never known that they were that close, or that losing Zuko could make her cry, but there had been something...a spark, a smile, that made him realize that perhaps they could fall in love. Now, if either of them would admit it, then everything would be perfect. Until then, they needed to hold each other close. For Emiko, to heal her pain. And for Zuko, to heal his heart.

"Three years ago today I was banished. I lost it all…" Zuko whispered dejectedly, interrupting his Uncle's thoughts. He looked up. "I want it back. I want the Avatar. I want my honor. I want my throne. I want my father not to think I'm worthless…"

"I'm sure he doesn't! Why would he banish you if he didn't care?" Uncle asked with exaggerated optimism.

Zuko got up and walked away.

Iroh sighed and chastised himself. "Erg…that came out wrong, didn't it?" Zuko's heart was so fragile at the moment, still tender from the loss of his mother, and then his father banishing him. Iroh didn't know if Emiko could help that heart heal, or if she could break it even further.

_**Emiko**_

I stood by the river and took off the necklace given to me by Isamu. Now was the first time I could actually see its engraving, and it was a small bird surrounded by fire.

_How ironic_, I thought sadly, running my fingers over it slowly. _I was the bird being caged by my father's fire._ Just feeling the love built into the small necklace made my stomach churn. Isamu had been a wonderful man. I had no idea what had happened to him after the battle in the Northern Water Tribe. I heard it was called the "Siege of the North." Isamu had been my soon-to-be husband, as forced upon by my father, his commanding officer. He'd always treated me with respect and kindness, but I hadn't felt a spark when he'd kiss me; nothing was there. I didn't know if Isamu was alive, if he'd gotten out... Koh, I couldn't even remember how _I'd_ gotten out, only that Zuko had helped me. He'd held me after my father had died, and he'd comforted me. It still hurt to think about him.

"I'm sorry, Father," I told the air, wondering if he was still in this world or the next. "I can't marry Isamu…I don't know if I could even find him." I tossed the necklace in the river and watched it float away, letting silent tears flow down my already stained cheeks. It bobbed a few times before slowly sinking to the bottom where I figured it'd stay for the rest of its days.

"_I'm not going to honor your dying wish_."

Suddenly a presence was behind me. I had been so caught up in my own self pity that I hadn't thought about anything else, much less an ambush. "Emiko…" that deep voice said from behind me. I felt a hand on my shoulder. _My heart stopped. The warm hand…the husky voice…_ It brought back all of the feelings of abandonment after he'd left, when I'd thought that he died.

My throat was tight and my eyes were starting to really burn from keeping all of the tears, and my face was hardened from the tears that had already fallen. I kept my face hidden from him, letting his hands gently move up and down my upper-arms. "Am I a monster?" I asked softly, looking into the water to see my red, puffy eyes looking back up at me.

"No," he whispered softly, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, settling his face into the crease of my neck. I felt his lips gently tracing shapes on my shoulders. "You aren't."

I took a deep, shuttering breath, leaning back into his arms. I still could see the last moments of my father's life, the way he had looked at me before he'd recoiled his hand from Zuko's, and the shame that was written there. "He pulled his hand back when I begged him to grab yours," I whispered, trying to keep the tears at bay, but it was so _hard_... "It wasn't until I came along that he gave up life. He was going to grab your hand. It was me who killed him, but walking up at the wrong time." The tears were falling now, and I sobbed silently, being comforted by Zuko's presence alone. Most times like this, I wanted to be alone, but his arms held me up and kept me sane.

"You didn't kill him." He said this as if he knew. I knew that he was there when it had happened, they had been fighting. But that didn't mean that he could tell me what had happened. I _knew_ that my father had let go, just because I knew my father too well. His pride was too strong to let his daughter seen that he was being saved by his mortal enemy.

I was getting so upset that I was shuddering. _He doesn't understand._ He was a Prince; he lived above all of the commoner things, above me. I was a military man's daughter, destined to be wed to a man she didn't love, destined to always succumb to the stronger sex.

But that just wasn't me.

I was on a roll, now; I couldn't stop. "Your father is supposed to be a m-man who teaches you who you are…and m-mine was n-never there. Now he's dead. M-my mother...she's gone, too, and there was so m-much I needed from her. I still need her, Zuko."

"Emiko…" he whispered against my shoulder, gently kissing every part of my skin that he could reach, "it's over. You don't have to worry about it anymore."

"It…it wasn't your fault, you know," I whispered back, knowing that this would hurt him but help him, too. "Your mother loved you deeply." Yes, I knew the story about his mother. I knew the story about his father. But I wanted to know _Zuko's_ story, not the thoughts of other people, but _Zuko's_ thoughts.

His kissing stopped, and all of a sudden he was frozen. I turned around in his arms, gently taking his face into my small hands and lifting it up, so that I could see his gorgeous topaz eyes. I pulled his face down to my height, leaning up to kiss each eyelid. He flinched when I kissed the scarred one, but I just gently kissed around it, then once in the center. I wanted to tell him what I felt, but the pain inside, of loosing my friend, Isamu, of loosing my father, and the newly-replenished fear of what had happened to my mother all piled up inside, and I stared to cry.

Now it was his turn to calm me down once more. I wrapped my arms around his neck, silently crying, knowing that tears were supposed to be romantic, just not the snot and the puffy eyes. He slowly sat down on the ground, pulling me into his lap and cradling me to his chest, gently kissing my face as I had his. His lips found mine once, twice, until I was lost in the softness of his caress.

It was wonderful, how his kiss could calm my heart but send it racing in passion. I loved that I could reach up, trace every part of his face, and his scar, too, if he'd let me, (he wouldn't during this kiss,) and then grasp his hair and pull, making his lips open just the slightest, so that I could kiss him like I wanted to.

He took control at this point, as he always seemed to, and took his frustration out on our kiss. His skin was so hot now that I could hardly stand to touch him, and yet I had to; if I didn't, I felt like I would die. The experience of his tongue, the way he held me, as if I would break at any moment, but that he almost seemed to _want_ to break me, made me want so, so much more.

I was greedy, I admit it. When he pulled his lips away from mine to gently nip my neck, to kiss the underneath side of my jaw and gently suck on my pulse, it drove me a little wild. I wanted him to kiss me, to hold me, to do _something_ to get rid of the pain, of the passion. It was then that I remembered what he'd said at the North Pole, before he'd left. _"Let me make love to you."_ Those words right there stopped my frantic wildness.

That was when I took control. I gently picked up Zuko's face, looking into his lust-filled eyes. He tried to move forwards, to claim my mouth again, but I stopped him. Instead, I gave one last peck to his lips, lingering, with a pain filling in my heart that you couldn't imagine, and I stood up.

I couldn't bare to look at him. I gently caressed his cheek, smiled sadly, and then walked away.

_**Later...**_

Uncle emptied a bag of seashells on a table in our cabin. He lifted a few and inspected them while I walked over and started to do the same. Some were swirled, others crimped, others straight. I didn't really care, I just needed a distraction.

"Look at these splendid shells!" Iroh called to Zuko, and I wondered if he forgave me yet or not. It wasn't my fault. He kind of bombarded me with the kisses; I just couldn't bare to have my emotions messed with anymore. A man should never mess with a woman's feelings.

For some reason, though, his kiss had been strange and rough, like it would be the last time I saw him. I knew this well enough because it was the same kiss he had given me before he left to find the Avatar. His "Avatar" was gone now, though, and probably searching for an Earthbending teacher. I knew that his next goal would be to go towards the Earth Kingdom. I wasn't sure if we were already there or not. And I knew that it would be a long while before I ever got over watching my father die.

Uncle laughed, pulling me out of my thought rampage. It was rather rude, actually, but then I remembered that he couldn't exactly read my mind to see what I was thinking. "I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come."

"They are pretty, Uncle," I said softly, and he smiled at me, gently caressing my face in a fatherly way before moving to pack up a few more of our things.

Zuko shook his head and scowled. He hadn't even looked at me since he had come back from whatever he had been doing down by the river. "We don't need anymore useless _things_." Okay, so maybe he didn't forgive me. He was back to his usual angsty-self. "You forget we have to carry everything _ourselves_ now."

I wanted to do something violent, for some reason, but then I just figured that it was my emotions, and the sexual tension probably didn't help anything either. So I just sighed and held my temper, hoping to be able to have a civilized conversation without everything going all lust-crazed.

That was about the time that I sensed someone in the room. The aura was dark, black, and evil. One could get swallowed up in it. "Hello, brother. Uncle. And Emiko! What a surprise."

I glanced over to see Zuko's sister, Princess Azula, sitting at a table in the far corner with a seashell in her hand. I noticed that Zuko and Uncle were surprised for only a moment before they're eyes narrowed into glares. I, on the other hand, was confused. Azula and Zuko had never gotten along. They looked a lot alike, though, with the thin black hair and the bright hazel eyes. Even their skin tone was the same, pale shade.

Zuko stepped forward his fists clenched. I noticed that his signature "angry" vein was popping out again. He acted like he was ready to protect us, but I knew for a fact that he wouldn't dare attack his sister. Well I had news for him anyways: the two people behind him were better off fending for themselves. "What are you doing here?" he asked accusingly, his dark eyes narrowed.

She was unaffected by the glares and toyed with the seashell in her hand. "In my country, we exchange a pleasant '_hello_' before asking _questions_," she told us arrogantly as she got up and walked over to face Zuko. "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zu-Zu?"

"Don't call me that!" Zuko yelled furiously. I crossed my arms and leaned against the window frame, angered. It wasn't the fact that Azula was here—no, I had no problem with Azula. It was the fact that she made Zuko like this, like he _was_ so uncivilized.

Iroh seemed to know what to do to break up the tension. "To what do we owe this honor?" Uncle asked her formally, bowing.

"Hmm…must be a family trait," Azula hypothesized, staring at the ceiling with her eyes, which reminded me a lot of my own sister's: evil and conniving. "Both of you so quick to get to the _point_." She shattered the shell in her hand with her sharp nails on the last word.

Iroh's face darkened, and now my full anger was on her and away from Zuko. Iroh was just trying to understand why his pampered niece was in our temporary home, enraging his nephew. Not to mention myself.

"I've come with a message from home," she informed, addressing Uncle and Zuko, obviously not me. The Fire Nation, to me, was _not_ home. "Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him…treacherous plots. Family are the only ones you can really trust," she explained as her voice and face softened. "Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home."

I'd always heard the saying, _Azula always lies_, but I didn't believe that Zuko was thinking about that at that time. There was no way… If Zuko didn't have the Avatar, how was he supposed to go back? I knew that this had to be some kind of scam. If the Fire Lord was anything like his son, he was too proud to rescind any kind of punishment.

There was a pause.

"And Emiko…I have news from your brother. He's accomplished much and wants you home as well. He _and_ your sister."

Zuko looked out the window and my mouth dropped.

No.

Ryuu might have wanted me back, but…_Jasmine_? There was no way! I was glad to know that she had made it out of the Siege of the North, hopefully unharmed, but Jasmine and I had never gotten along, and we never would. Finally, I came to the conclusion that Azula was lying. Just like the saying said.

"Did you hear me?" Azula asked impatiently, narrowing her Zuko-colored eyes and looking like a haughty princess should. "You should be happy. Excited. _Grateful_. I just gave you great news!"

I smiled, sincerely, and thought about how Zuko was feeling right then. The smile was also a way to show her that I hated her guts, and I really did hope that she saw right through it. "I'm sure that your brother just needs a moment to—"

"Don't interrupt, Emiko!" she silenced me angrily. It was then that I saw there reason of resemblance between my sister and this woman—there was that same, crazy look in her eyes. She then turned and addressed Zuko, and I wondered if both of the resembled their mother, or if they resembled their father. Perhaps they were a mixture of both, but Azula was much more feminine, considering she was a girl. I don't know, they just looked too much alike. "I still haven't heard my thank you. I am not a messenger; I didn't have to come all this way."

_Sure_, my brain thought, and I wanted to hold Zuko's hand, to stop whatever pain was raging inside of him. _He can't believe this, can he?_

"Father regrets?" Zuko asked with shocked and quiet disbelief. Obviously, he could. "He…wants me back?" The pain in his eyes was too much to bare. I had to look away, but that still didn't stop his sad voice from reaching my ears.

"I can see you need time to take this in." Azula sighed, looking each of us in the eyes with her conniving ones. "I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening."

Now, instead of wanting to attack Zuko, I thought that I was going to pounce his sister. But both Uncle _and_ Zuko were standing there, ready to stop me, though. So I just let the Princess waltz right on by.

I figured out later how much of a bad move that was.

_**Later that Night...**_

It was dark out, now, and I realized that I hadn't moved from my spot. Zuko, on the other hand, hadn't quit moving. He was packing the few things that we owned into a few small things, but I wouldn't move to help. I sat next to Uncle and wanted to block out every happy thing that Zuko was saying.,

"We're going home!" I heard him cry, which made me flinch in my seat. "After three long years…it's _unbelievable_!"

I sat there, trying not to say anything. Iroh said it for me. "It _is_ unbelievable…" he mumbled, all while I was thinking of how my sister hated me and I hated her. Maybe Azula just meant that _Ryuu_ wanted me home. Well..._if_ I believed her. Uncle stroked his beard. "I have never known my brother to regret _anything_," he told Zuko skeptically.

At first Zuko looked surprised, but then he glared at his only-trying-to-help Uncle. "Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him; he _cares_ about me."

"_We_ care about you!" I cried, finally not able to stay quiet any longer. If he was going to give up all we had just because his siter tells him something that might or might not have been true, then...well, I didn't know what I was going to do.

Uncle shook his head, and I looked at Zuko pleadingly. "If Ozai wants you back, well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine."

Zuko became defensive and turned his back to us, just as I knew he would. He _really_ was going to turn his back on us for the people who abandoned him. "You don't know how my father feels about me," he growled, using a tone that reminded me of a child. "You don't know _anything_."

Now I got up, still slightly angered, but also feeling pity. I put my hand on Zuko's shoulder as Uncle continued. "Zuko, I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem." The old man's comment was correct, but the Prince probably didn't listen. I gently squeezed his shoulder, wishing that he would look at me, maybe even kiss me, to show me that everything was alright.

Zuko flung my hand off his shoulder, whirled around and still wouldn't look me in the eyes. No, instead, he glared at Uncle. "I think you are exactly what you seem, Uncle," he said angrily, making me catch my breath from the fury coming from the Prince. "A lazy, mistrustful, _shallow_ old man who has always been jealous of his brother!"

Zuko had never been one to take criticism lightly. He always had to blame his mistakes on someone else. But this was _horrible._ Iroh had never done anything but help Zuko, he'd stayed with him for three years, guiding him along the right path, keeping him sane in his search for the Avatar.

I put my hands on Zuko's arms, forcing him to look at me. "Zuko, don't take this out on Iroh. He's done nothing but try to help you."

Then, in my surprise, Zuko turned his fury to me. "And you!" he yelled, grabbing my arm roughly. I gave out a small gasp of pain and surprise, but he didn't notice. "You're a hot headed _girl _who won't quit mourning the loss of the worst father the world has ever seen! You think that you're the most powerful Firebender ever and can challenge anyone at any time, but you aren't, won't, and _can't_!"

I took my hand and lashed it against the side of his face, watching it leave a large red whelp. He stumbled backwards as the room got fuzzy in front of my eyes, and then he tore out of the back door of our cottage.

I glared at where he left for a moment longer, but then stormed out the front exit.

_**Zuko**_

The next morning, Zuko quickly descended the stairway outside of the bathhouse, a bag over his shoulder. He paused for a moment and looked down at the Fire Nation ship in the bay below, thinking of the many things that could go wrong with Azula being the leader in all of this. He didn't know if he would ever see Emiko or Iroh after what he had done, either, but then again, it was worth it.

...Right?

"Wait!" a familiar voice called out urgently. Zuko looked back to see Uncle running as fast as he could and waving his hand. "Don't leave without me!"

"Uncle!" Zuko called to him, feeling a large weight lifted off of his shoulders. Not all of it, as he still didn't see Emiko, but most of it, yes. "You've changed your mind!"

"Family sticks together, right?"

Zuko smiled when Uncle put his hand on his shoulder. Both of them looked down to the docks, and Zuko felt a sense of calm. "We're finally going home…"

Uncle took a second glance at the ship, looking skeptical. Zuko tried to ignore it, because he knew that he wanted this, knew that he wanted his sister to be telling the truth. Almost as much as he wanted to be with Emiko.

Zuko almost turned and walked again, but felt as if something heavy started weighing on his shoulders again. His cheek ached from where he'd been slapped.. "Where's…?"

Uncle shook his head. "I tried to find her but—"

That was when he felt her presence, and he turned to see her standing at the top of the hill, a hesitant look on her face. She was gorgeous, standing there, with her long, thick black hair and those bright yellow eyes. He didn't ever think he'd get tired of how short she was, he wondered if she knew just how much he found her heart-shaped face appealing.

She slowly walked down the steps, wearing a simple white tunic and pants that any normal peasant would wear, but he still found her strangely beautiful. She moved and stepped next to Iroh's side. "Hello, Zuko," she said softly, not able to meet his eyes.

"Emiko," he said softly, feeling a smile come onto his face, and the tension being released from his entire body. The scared look on her face made him feel horrible, and he noticed a small bruise in the shape of his hand on her arm. He reached out and gently caressed it, making her flinch. "I'm—"

"Don't touch me. Lets go, if we're going." She shrugged away from his touch, straightening the small pack over her shoulder, and moved to leave. He gently grabbed her hand and pulled her back, quickly capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Her lips had always been warm and soft, but at the moment they were no longer warm; instead, they were cool, but they were still soft and supple beneath his. When he pulled away, she looked more than surprised, as if she'd had some kind of speech built up, but it'd been deflated by the kiss. "L-lets go, Zuko," she repeated, gently pushing away from him.

Zuko smiled softly again, knowing that things were going to be alright from then on.

_**Emiko**_

I felt so many emotions riling in me that I was confused. I was worried, because Zuko's hopes could be crushed. I was upset, hurt, and angry because Zuko had handled me harshly, and his hand print was still on my arm. I was so, _so_ confused, because this kiss he'd just given me had been soft and loving, and the most gentle kiss he'd ever given me. And then I was in pain, from all of this emotion, from losing my father. From hitting him.

I kept moving forwards, looking away from the red skin on his pale cheek.

We walked to the docks, and I knew that I'd miss this strange place. It had been peaceful and full of relaxation. It held my father's mourning place, and Isamu's necklace. I knew that in the future, I would come back. I would bring my kids here, and hope that somehow, my father was in a peaceful place like that.

On the dock, a group of Fire Nation soldiers formed two ranks along the path leading to the ship. The three of us walked toward them. Azula stood at the top of the stairs that led onto her ship, a soldier on either side. Zuko looked content, and Uncle was eyeing the soldiers suspiciously, but I just wanted to get this over with. I knew that something was going to go wrong. It just needed to happen so that I could get it over with.

Azula raised her arms in greeting and bowed to us. "Brother! Uncle! Emiko, too!" she cried with happiness, and the sincerity may or may not have been real. We bowed in response. I saw Uncle eye the soldiers next to him.

"Welcome," Azula greeted, clasping her thin hands together. In noticed that her armor made her a bit larger than she really seemed to be. "I'm so glad you decided to come." The two files of soldiers closed in behind us, making the skin on the back of my neck prick up. _Its about to happen._

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?" the Captain asked, and I thought that I'd seen him before, but I wasn't sure.

"Set our course for home, Captain," Azula commanded pleasantly, and I felt for a fact that she was putting up some kind of front, trying to confuse us. If she was anything like my sister, then this was all going to go wrong in no time at all.

"_Home_…" Zuko repeated wistfully, and the longing in his voice made me hope that perhaps nothing _would _happen. I wanted to take his hand, but I knew that it wouldn't be right.

We began to climb the stairs onto the ship while the Captain led the way. "You heard the Princess!" he called. "Raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners ho—" He stopped, realizing his mistake.

My heart broke for Zuko right then. That, and the fact that I was considered a "prisoner" now. Before, I'd been the daughter. Now, I was a prisoner. Zuko looked enraged, and I wanted to hold him, but I'd probably have to hold him down. Iroh seemed as if he, too had known that this would happen. Azula, on the other hand, was now seething.

The Captain was mortified. "Your Highness…I…!"

Zuko's eyes widened. Uncle looked to his left, then spun around, backhanding a guard off of the ship and kicked another down the incline.

Another guard approached from his left, but I grabbed his foot before he could get any bending from it. I spun underneath his leg and twisted his entire body around before he fell into the water. I punched another that approached from my left. Now, I wasn't even thinking with my mind, I was just trying to stay alive. Isn't that what everyone does during those moments?

Uncle grabbed a soldier that was about to trip me and spun him around, tossing him off the edge of the dock. Zuko grabbed one guard, throwing him off the incline and into the water. He stalked up the incline of the ship, furious. "You lied to me!"

"Like I've never done _that_ before," his sister said smugly, waving off the conflict with a small smirk. She turned and walked away.

Two guards launched fire at Zuko, but he just brushed it aside and charged forward, screaming.

He leaped on board, knocking two guards on either side out of the way with flames shooting from his arm and leg. And that was the last I saw of him, because we were too busy fighting the other men while _His Royal Ass_ was up there fighting his sister.

Uncle and I tried to fight off the soldiers on the path leading to the ship. One launched a kick at him, but a blast of fire from me sent him flying. Two other soldiers approached from each side, and Iroh sent two blasts of fire at them, knocking them from the path. It had been a very, very long time since I'd been able to openly Firebend, and I reveled it in. Another guard launched a fireball at Iroh's face, but he avoided it and grabbed the soldier's arm and put an arm around his neck.

Holding the guard, he turned toward the ship. "Zuko!" he cried, the only thing that I could consider 'panic' coming from Iroh's voice. "Let's go!" He tossed the guard off the side of the path. Another approached, throwing fire at him, but Iroh stepped to the side and pushed him away with a palm to the face.

Iroh was busy, so he didn't see one of the guards grab my hair. "Let go!" I cried, cursing his dirty tactic. I felt a chuckle run through his body. I couldn't get out; I was stuck. I did the first thing that came to my mind. Reaching around, I grabbed the soldier's sword and pulled it up, and used it to cut my hair out of the soldier's grasp. He fell backwards and into the water. I didn't bother with looking at it, now that it was up to my chin. Because there were only about five guards left.

Uncle took care of three of them while I was busy trying to fight the other two. I did a jump kick and broke one's nose, before finally he decided that more broken bones weren't going to be good. Then, before I could turn around, the other one had his arm around my waist and a dagger at my throat.

"Call the old man over here," he whispered menacingly into my ear. Anxiety filled me, making me start to feel claustrophobic and scared. "Do it or he'll be seeing the inside of your throat and then I'll go for _him_."

"U-Uncle!" I cried in dread, my hands on the man's forearm. I could feel the steel of the blade cutting into my neck, and I was almost afraid to swallow in fear that if I did, the movement would push the dagger against my skin. I didn't need to swoon at that moment from looking at blood. It probably wouldn't be the best idea.

Iroh turned to me then with a look of fear. "_Emiko_…" Since one of the men he was fighting was down on the ground, unconscious, the other two had to hold him back.

"Touch one hair on his head, and I _swear_ I will hunt you down until you're dead," I threatened menacingly, only to the man holding me, my voice quavering. "Even then, I'll find you in the Spirit World, forever haunting your soul."

He laughed and nodded to one of the men who had heard. That man plucked a grey hair from Uncle's head, shredding it in his hand with a knife that he'd gotten from somewhere in his tool belt.

"You're hard of hearing, aren't you?" I asked the Lieutenant behind me, feeling anger filling ever part of my being.

Again, he laughed at me. "And what are you going to do about it, little girl?"

I didn't answer, making him laugh even harder. The world around me suddenly got hot, and a strange feeling was somewhere in my chest and stomach. Finally, I felt the man behind me back up, dropping the dagger; it clattered to the floor. He fell to one knee and started to breathe hard. I turned and kept my eyes on him, never taking them off. My body was just there, but not my thoughts. I couldn't stop doing whatever I was doing to this man.

"Is…is it hot out here…?" he asked, sweating, gripping the side of the dock. The man's skin started to boil, and he was frantically trying to figure out why. He appeared to be in incredible pain. I saw the two soldiers behind me drop Uncle's arms from the corner of my eye. The backed up slowly, and then ran away.

The Lieutenant in front of me started screaming as well before he jumped into the water. Still, his skin was burning. I watched with no emotion as the skin started falling off, showing the muscles that were burnt underneath. Soon, that too was melting off.

I watched as half of the man was burnt to no extent.

Finally, I felt Uncle come up from behind and wrap his arms around me. He put my head in his chest as tears fell from my still-emotionless eyes. Still, there was _nothing_. No emotion, no pain, no fulfillment…

It took a moment, but it finally hit me that I killed that man. Convulsions overtook as Uncle tightened his grip.

"What did I do…?" I wanted to know, tears soaking his shirt. "What did I _do_?" I screamed this and stuffed my face further into him.

He seemed hesitant to tell her, but he laid his head on mine and kissed her forehead. "You…you boiled his blood."

"Boiled…his…blood."

Maybe that man had a family.

Maybe that body floating in the water below me felt pain, never again to see his wife or his children. His parents; grandchildren.

"By raising his body temperature, you boiled his blood, boiling his skin," Uncle marveled, still holding me, still trying to comfort me. "I've read about this type of Firebending…but I've never…"

I squeezed Uncle to the point of no extent. How could I have done such a thing? I took another human being's life away, without even thinking about it. All I felt was… You know what? I don't even know what I felt. It had been like I was in immense pain, but I had been outside my body. But now I was inside my body, and fully aware of everything I did. I could see everything.

And what I saw was Azula, poised to strike at her older brother.

She stood at the top of the incline and began to swing her arms in circles, lightning arcing around her. She aimed her fingers at Zuko and a lightning bolt shot toward him.

"NO!" I cried, not noticing that I was once again alone.

Uncle suddenly appeared and grabbed Azula's fingers in his hand. He channeled the electricity through his body and shot it from his other hand, letting it explode harmlessly into the cliff side. He then somehow disabled her, making her fall into the water.

The next thing I knew, I was being harshly thrown over a shoulder. Zuko said nothing as he held me against him, running alongside his Uncle.

_**Later...**_

I looked down from Zuko's arms and saw our shadows in the river. He collapsed onto his knees at the bank of it, setting me down next to him. My stomach hurt from being carried like that the entire way, but the pain that Zuko was feeling was even worse, so I said nothing.

Uncle breathed deeply, taking a knee next to his nephew. "I think we're safe here."

I was still shocked by what had happened. The fact that I'd killed a man was still engrained into my mind, and I stared down at my hands as if they were man-killing machines. "Is anyone ever _safe_…?"

Iroh looked away from me, over to his nephew.

Zuko brought out a knife with some writing on the blade, acting as if neither of us were there. He stared at it for a moment, and I wondered what he was trying to do. Iroh nodded solemnly, keeping his eyes away from me as well. Zuko took the knife and brought it behind his head and cut off his ponytail. He passed the knife to Iroh, who did the same. I was rather shocked, actually.

He handed it back to Zuko, but I snatched it out of both of their hands. Zuko looked down at me, his eyes filled with horror. I smiled weakly and cut my hair even shorter, so that it was short enough that no man could grab it and use it against me again.

Zuko nodded. All three of us released our hair into the water. Zuko and Uncle's ponytails floated down, while mine turned a dull brown and pulled apart. I put my hand up to my hair to try and understand what it would look like. I felt strange curls pulling my hair up, and I knew that this would be a large change from the usual.

Hair was hair; it grew back. But this new way of life that we would have...it would change everything.

* * *

**Welcome back to the newest episode of "The Daughter of the Sun," otherwise known to me as "DotS." This one is about Revelations. The Beginning has already been done. You can either read on, or go back, it doesn't matter! **

**Here's a look from the next chapter, "The Family Difference,"**

_Song laughed, and I jabbed Zuko harshly in the ribs. "So," she said as she still applied another patch of the special ointment, "do you have names?"_

"_Names…?" Zuko asked slowly, sweat forming on the nape of his neck as he scrounged his brain for a quick answer. "Of course we have names. I'm…Lee. And this is my uncle…Mushi!"_

_Iroh shot him an unhappy look from behind Song's back, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Yes, my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior!" He smiled in victory as he looked over his shoulder at "Junior" who balled his fists at the name Uncle just bestowed on him._

"_Mushi and Junior, huh?" she asked as she turned to look at me. "Well you already know my name, but I'm missing your friend's name." She nodded towards me and smiled._

_I smiled and got up, my short hair not falling in front of my face like it used to in order to hide myself from the world. "My name is Amaterasu," I told her, bowing and hoping that my face didn't show what I was feeling._

_Uncle became mortified._

_I simply smiled, trying to hide the pain I was feeling. Even the mention of the name hurt me, but I knew that it was the only name that I could ever possibly have. It wasn't a crime to use her name. She would be happy that her name could help me out, at least somehow. And I would do all that I could to fulfill her persona the way it deserved to be fulfilled._


	2. The Family Difference

**I just figured out that I've been a Fanfiction member for a year and two days! That is reason to celebrate, and to upload a chapter early. I know, I know, I promised once a week. But here's a present!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I would choose to be an Airbender, I think, so that I could fly with my winged-lemur.(:**

* * *

**The Family Difference**

I walked out of the woods with berries and nuts stuffed in my new black apron. It'd been a few hours, but I was pretty sure that we had enough for the next few days. I smoothed down the rest of my new clothes, feeling slightly guilty, but it had been necessary. We weren't proud of it, but we'd had to take some clothes from those that were drying on lines. So now I had a simple peasant dress that was as black as my hair. And speaking of hair, it had recoiled up even shorter, to small tendrils of curls. I didn't like it, but it was better than the chance of another man grabbing my hair and using it against me.

Dead and newly growing plants twined under my feet in the thick, dense forest. Little light came in through the canopy, but it was nice to have a few quiet moments to myself. Birds and animals surrounded me with strange noises, though, so technically I wasn't alone, and it also wasn't quiet. And though some things scared me, I knew I would be alright.

About a week ago, uncle Iroh had made a poisonous plant into tea, and we'd had to go into town. Luckily, there had been no one who had known us, so we'd been fine in meeting a woman who could help us. Her name had been Song. Obviously we hadn't been able to give our real names, and I remembered the scenario quite well.

"_You three must not be from around here," Song said as she applied a clay-like substance to Uncle's chest. I knew that I would need to ask for the recipie for that certain medical substance. "We know better than to touch the White Jade, much less make it into tea and drink it." She chuckled at Iroh's expense, making the old man blush._

_Uncle rubbed his head sheepishly, laughing at his own mistake. "Whoops!" _

"_So where are you traveling from?" she asked nonchalantly, not really sticking her nose into our business but wanting to know anyways. She seemed sincere, just wanting to make small talk._

_Zuko didn't like that, though, and he obviously wasn't prepared to have to hide our identities. "Yes, we're travelers!"he exclaimed nervously._

_Song laughed, and I jabbed Zuko harshly in the ribs. "So," she said as she still applied another patch of the special ointment, "do you have names?"_

"_Names…?" Zuko asked slowly, sweat forming on the nape of his neck as he scrounged his brain for a quick answer. "Of course we have names. I'm…Lee. And this is my uncle…Mushi!"_

_Iroh shot him an unhappy look from behind Song's back, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Yes, my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior!" He smiled in victory as he looked over his shoulder at "Junior" who balled his fists at the name Uncle just bestowed on him._

"_Mushi and Junior, huh?" she asked as she turned to look at me. "Well you already know my name, but I'm missing your friend's name." She nodded towards me and smiled._

_I smiled and got up, my short hair not falling in front of my face like it used to in order to hide myself from the world. "My name is Amaterasu," I told her, bowing and hoping that my face didn't show what I was feeling._

_Uncle became mortified._

_I simply smiled, trying to hide the pain I was feeling. Even the mention of the name hurt me, but I knew that it was the only name that I could ever possibly have. It wasn't a crime to use her name. She would be happy that her name could help me out, at least somehow._

That had been about the time that she'd invited us for roast duck, which had kept us alive for the past week. We'd talked about hardships, and hadn't really lied, but we had. Zuko had gotten upset; I knew that the talk about the war, and their assumptions that a Firebender had given him, a non-Firebender, his scar, had hurt him more than anything.

That was when Zuko walked into the clearing I was in, carrying a long fishing pole. A sour expression was plastered on his face. I looked over to see why he looked so bitter and laughed. At the end of his enormous fishing pole was what looked like a minnow that wiggled pathetically. It was a good try, anyways, even if it would barely feed us at all. And then I remembered my own sour look that day.

Back at the girl's place, right after we'd left, he'd taken their ostrich-horse. I remembered looking back at her looking out her door at us, the look of her sorrow filling me with agony. And though Zuko didn't feel guilty for taking the horse, I did. We may have needed it, but it was wrong to have taken their hospitality and then to have taken their horse.

Zuko wasn't thinking about that right now. He was glaring at me with hard eyes, but I just went over to him and kissed him softly on the lips, which softened his mood. "Good try anyways," I told him, still feeling the roughness of his lips on mine, trying to forget that he had stolen the ostrich-horse.

He finally smiled before he dropped the pole. He put his hands on my face and kissed me a little more thoroughly, gently lining my lips with his tongue. My arms wrapped around his neck and his hands moved to the small of my back, pulling me to him, our kiss so soft that I could have wept. Yeah, it was still there. That feeling that made me want to tell him how exactly I felt. But what was I going to do about it? Did he feel the same way when our lips touched? Would all of the kisses feel the same way?

Suddenly he stopped, gently pressing a finger to my lips when I went to ask what was wrong. He stepped back enough to give us breathing room, and then reached into his pocket. I was so confused, wanting to know what had happened, but then he pulled something out. At first I didn't know what it was. It was just a thick piece of black string, that was all. But then the maroon surface showed itself, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him, still not being able to say anything. I grasped his face and kissed every single part of it, from his lips, to his nose, and I spent the longest time showing love to the scar that he thought was so hideous, but I thought was a piece of who he was. My kiss to his lips was salty from my tears, and I smiled against his skin. I hugged him once more.

"Where did you find it?" I asked after a long moment of silence.

He smiled, though behind it was a small agony. "I found it on the ice before…" The sentence dropped and now there was a frown. I knew that it had been in my father's pocket before he had died. I knew that Zuko had picked it up during their battle, and had kept it until the right time, until we were alone.

"Thank you…" I sighed to him, my words almost lost on the wind. I held him for a moment longer, until he finally pulled away. He moved behind me, putting the necklace over my head, and then tying it back into its rightful place. His fingers gently caressed my neck as he tied the thick string, and then he kissed the knot.

I turned to him and smiled, knowing that everything would be alright.

_**Back in the Fire Nation**_

Jasmine Zhao stood in front of her classroom of students, wondering when they would ever learn. She had sat in this very same classroom less than five years before, but had never been this dense. The Fire Nation Academy for Girls had really gone downhill since her time, but thinking of that made her feel old. "Class," she told them irately, pointing to the board on which two pieces of parchment worth of writing was held. "I want you to memorize these tactics for a test tomorrow."

The young teenagers moaned, making Jasmine sigh on the inside. Having been gone for at least two months, following her father in his strange obsession for the Avatar, these teenagers had gotten lazy. She needed to whip them back into shape. _The joys of being a student,_ she thought with a small, sadistic laugh to herself.

"Alright," she said, just as soon as the last of them had put down their pencils. "Who wants to do some maneuvers?"

The young teenagers moaned again. Jasmine didn't have any patience for laziness, so she harshly shouted, "Get outside!" to them, which made them scurry through the ancient hallways of the school. It had once been used as the first Royal Palace, before the Royals had moved to the main island. It had been kept the same, and was still furbished the way that the first Royals had decided it to be, only cleaner now.

Once she herded the class outside, she lined them up by name.

"Akihiko!" The small brunette stepped forwards, grace in her step. "First Formation!" The girl ran out, slid underneath her opponent, Arata, and put her in a chokehold from behind.

"Good," Jasmine told her, nodding, knowing that at least _someone_ could do something right. "Arata! First Counter!"

Arata flipped the girl over her shoulder and pinned her to the ground with almost no effort.

"Excellent." She walked down the line of idiot children and looked each and every one of the females in the eyes. "Class, I want you to look at Arata and Akihiko and take mental notes. Their forms are perfect. I have yet to see a single one of the rest of you match their star standards." She would have kept going, praising her star students, but she saw a figure approaching. "Stand still and be quiet," she said under her breath, motioning for her two star pupils to stop for a moment, to stand still.

The class gasped when they saw the face of who approached.

"Princess Azula!" Jasmine exclaimed, feeling the pit of dread inside of her widen dramatically. With the speed of the warrior she was, she fell to the floor and bowed before the Fire Nation Princess.

"Jasmine, stand up, won't you? We've been through this before!" Azula touched her friend's shoulder, and then Jasmine just had to stand up and hug the Princess of the Fire Nation. "It is good to see you again, old friend. And I'm sorry I can't visit longer," she told Jasmine, pulling out of the hug. "But I have a proposition for you that I need answered."

Jasmine bowed. "Anything, Princess."

The Princess smiled like a child, before looking at the children before her and frowning. "Do you have anywhere we can talk privately?"

She nodded, instantly wondering how much more embarrassment she could take. First, the Princess finding her _teaching_, of all things. And now this. "Of course, Princess," Jasmine said softly, not able to stop bowing. She turned to her class. "Get inside!" she yelled at all of them, stopping only one. "Akihiko!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Akihiko called.

"Go to the office and tell them that you need a teacher to watch you."

"Of course," she said, bowing respectively, and racing off to join the rest of her class.

"Now," Jasmine said, turning to gesture to the Princess, to make her walk, "where were we?" She had a bad feeling about this, but Azula wasn't only her Princess, but also her friend. She had to listen to her no matter what the proposition was.

"You remember my Uncle and brother, don't you?" Azula asked with a slight hint of malice in her voice.

"The fat man and your idiot brother?" Jasmine asked, smiling as Azula chuckled at her descriptions. "Yes. I thought that your brother was dead, though, Princess."

"What?" Azula snapped, turning her irritated topaz eyes upon Jasmine. "Where in Agni's name did you hear that?"

Jasmine bowed her head, cursing herself for bringing it up. But then again, _wasn't_ Zuko dead? "I'm sorry, Azula. That is just what I heard."

She scoffed and gritted her teeth, glaring at the school, then at Jasmine, and lastly at another group of teenagers who were practicing spy tactics. "This is the outcome of teaching gossiping _children."_

Jasmine had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming at her own Princess. "They really are good children. It's an honor to teach at the school that taught me." While her brain was saying, _Shut the hell up, I'm not sitting on some hoity-toity throne, I'm out teaching our future warriors!_

"Yes," Azula said sarcastically, looking up at the school. "The Royal Fire Academy for Girls is the best school there is. Why do you want to teach being an assassin when you could be one?"

Jasmine shook her head, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. She felt a pang of sadness run through her as she thought why. "As you know, my father and sister were killed not too long ago, so I thought that teaching would help me forget. I was never close to Emiko, but the pain of her death still hurts me."

"I'm so sorry, Jasmine…but that is part of the reason I came to see you."

Jasmine stiffened, automatically thinking the worst. "What part of it?"

Azula sighed and put her hand on her friend's shoulder, stopping her movement. The Princess's cold yellow eyes chilled Jasmine to the core, and that was saying something. "Your sister isn't dead."

One blink. Two. However many seconds passed, Jasmine didn't know, only that her heart was a raging bullet in her chest, and her blood pressure was climbing, like it always did in these instances. She would have to blame her father, and her mother's father, for that damn fact, but there was nothing she could do at the moment.

"You would've had to turn her in," Azula said softly, gently patting her friend's arm. "She's a fugitive."

"Damn her," Jasmine finally said, clenching her fists, feeling her teeth grit together. "Damn that girl! Damn, damn, DAMN!"

"Calm yourself, Jasmine!" Azula said firmly, hitting Jasmine in the arm and shaking her slightly.

Jasmine didn't know what to think as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her Zhao temper. "I'm sorry, Princess." _I don't know what came over me._

Azula smiled, and it alone was something that should have sent panic rolling through her body. "It's a good thing to know that you don't like your sister…"

"I've never liked my sister," Jasmine told her, as if saying it wasn't enough, but declaring it was. Azula had always known, but Jasmine had to make _sure_ that the Princess knew. "But why is it good?"

"I want you to come on a mission with me to capture my brother, my uncle, and your sister."

Jasmine felt a small, sadistic smile come over her face, konwing that she probably looked like her father at the moment. And although that mad eher sad, she knew what she had to do. "I would be honored, Princess."

* * *

**Hmm...so, how many of you like Jasmine? I'm taking a poll! I just want to know(:**

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter, "The Blue Spirit:"**

It was night, that was all that I knew. I was sitting next to Uncle and he was playing with the curls around my head, telling me that he loved them. "They make you look so young," he was saying, but I swatted his hand away and gave him a wry look.

"As if I need to look any younger," I scoffed, turning to lean my head against his arm. Zuko wasn't back yet, and I didn't think that he would be back for a while. My suspicions had been growing for a while, with what Zuko had been doing, but I was too afraid of his anger to really question him. So, I decided to ask Uncle. "Uncle, is Zuko going to be alright?"

He was surprised by the change of thought, but he quickly told me what I wanted to know. "He is...suffering right now, my child. Everything, even what the vile man did to you, has grated on him. I would think that that one event would be the worst for him." He put his hand on mine, and I looked up into his eyes. "He cares about you, my child."

"He has a funny way of showing it," I mumbled bitterly.


	3. The Return of the Blue Spirit

**Who likes early uploads? I do! I won't be home tomorrow, so you get some Zumiko goodness(:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. If I did, Toph would be my best friend(:**

* * *

**The Return of the Blue Spirit**

The sun shone bright on the river, almost blinding me. And you know, you'd think that my headache wouldn't be plaguing me with the light. I clenched my eyes shut and leaned against Zuko, turning my face into his chest. The picture of the village was still engrained into my mind, and I could picture myself here in the future, or now, but we'd never be safe if we didn't move. Over that beautiful river was a bridge, and people bearing backpacks and other loads walked back and forth over the bridge, either entering or departing the village. I could see myself walking over that bridge, see myself there every morning before I came home to Zuko and Uncle. But I knew that it wouldn't happen.

But instead of living in this beautiful, simple place, we were sitting on straw mats inside the village, our stolen ostrich-horse behind us. I watched as a cart festooned with masks for sale passed us by. More and more people seemed to be crowding the streets.

Iroh held his hat out to a pedestrian, and I wanted to sink into the ground. Even in my worst days, when I'd had nothing, I'd never stooped to _begging_. "Spare coins for weary travelers?"

The man threw a few copper coins into Iroh's hat, joining perhaps a dozen already there. It jingled, giving me perhaps more of a headache. I hugged Zuko to me, feeling the need to have him respond, for him to hold me, but he wouldn't. His arm was over my shoulder, his fingers gently caressing my arm, but that was it.

Zuko turned to Iroh suddenly, jostling me as I tried to rest on his shoulder. I knew that Zuko was going to say exactly what I'd been thinking. "This is humiliating!" he whispered angrily, turning completely until I about fell into his lap. "We're royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want."

"They will…" I told him, grumbling, trying to get comfortable again. I gently rubbed my temples, trying to rid off the damned headache. "_If_ you ask nicely. Now shh…hhh…" I put my finger to his lips and tried to dose off, but he placed his strong hand on my hip and pulled me closer, and then I couldn't do anything but want to kiss him. I leaned up and aimed for his lips, but got right under his jaw. I felt stubble growing there and it made me want to laugh, but I didn't. But he helped me out by tilting his head down and gently kissing me, though it had an edge that made me feel a little awkward. I pulled away slowly and leaned my head back on his shoulder. He pulled my hip even closer, to where I was almost sitting on his lap. A hot blush ran up my neck to spill in my cheeks, but I ignored it and him, knowing that he wanted more than a kiss.

I closed my eyes. Iroh solicited a well-dressed young woman, next. "Spare change for a hungry old man?" he asked in a weak voice, and I knew that the girl had to be pretty, but still, I hated all of this.

"Aww," she cooed as she produced a coin from her sleeve and put it in his hat. "Here you go."

Uncle put on what he thought was a seductive smile. In truth, it just made me want to laugh. "The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile!"

Zuko grasped my arm a little too tightly in his anger, which cut off my laugh almost instantly. The girl giggled and walked away. I pulled Zuko's hand back down and placed it on my waist, hoping that his heat would get rid of the offending headache. Normally Zuko wasn't warm to me. Actually, his skin was usually pretty cool against mine, but at the moment he was comfortable and warm, so I just held onto him.

A man carrying a pair of broadswords on his back wandered by the opposite direction as the girl this time, and the moment I saw him I knew that he was mean and horrible, just by his cocky smile. He stopped and addressed us, his smile cruel. "How about some entertainment in exchange for a gold piece?"

"We're not performers," Zuko told him pointedly, looking in his eyes for just one moment before down at me. He let his hand gently caress my waist and hip, making me shiver and stop his hand before I wanted to do something worse than kissing him in public.

Uncle smiled and put his hat on the ground. "Not professional, anyway!" He stood up and clasped his hands together. While he sang, he shifted from one foot to the other, rocking back and forth. "It's a long, long way to Ba-Sing-Se, but the girls in the city they look so prett-ay!"

The man was displeased, obviously, and my headache couldn't get any worse, so I knew that this was going to be horrible. "Come on! We're talking a _gold piece_ here!" the man cried as he whipped out his broadswords. I was on alert, now, the headache forgotten. "Let's see some action!"

I looked up to Zuko; his eyes burned with anger. I felt his hand tighten against my waist, and he pulled me to him closer. _Don't blame him,_ my brain scolded for thinking that Zuko's anger was out of control. _You're angry too. That man shouldn't be doing this._

The man pointed his sword at Uncle. "Dance!" The Broadsword Man began to swing his swords at Iroh's legs. Iroh hopped up and down to avoid the blows while continuing his song. "And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet the girls from Ba-Sing-SE!"

Zuko gritted his teeth and gripped me so hard that I knew I was going to bruise. His hold was verging on painful, but I wasn't going to say anything.

The man laughed viciously, making a sick feeling run through me. "Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner. How about…?"

I stood up, feeling anger course through my system. "Enough." Uncle already did what the man wanted, so we should've gotten the gold piece by now. "Leave him alone and give him the gold piece."

The man just then noticed me. "Well, hello there, pretty lady!" he said, spending a little bit too much time looking at me from head to toe. It sent chills of disgust up my spine, and I glowered at him.

"I think he earned the gold coin," I told the rude man again, my eyes narrowing. _Very rude indeed…_

The man shook his head with an appreciative smile on his face. "Can you sing?"

That stopped me from wanting to pounce on him. "_What_?" Was he drunk, maybe?

He grabbed my arm and picked me up until I was on my tiptoes. I gasped from the pain that he inflicted, and for a moment I was in such shock that he would handle me like this that I couldn't even think. "Sing, girl! Sing!"

I pushed him away from me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Zuko getting ready to attack. I shook my head at him and readied for whatever I had to do. My headache was momentarily forgotten, but that pounding just kept coming more and more painful.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me toward him. "Maybe I could get a kiss in exchange, then…?"

Pulling back my arm, I punched his jaw and he stumbled back. "Not on your _life_!" I yelled at him furiously, my glare wanting to kill him, but it didn't, to my disappointment.

He dropped the coin. Once he got his balance back, he glared at me and stormed off.

I picked up the gold piece off the ground. "Here Uncle," I said as I flipped the coin to him.

He caught the coin and put it in the hat. "Such a nice man," he complimented almost sincerely as he smiled after the stranger.

"Yeah, Uncle," I mumbled sarcastically, sitting back in my spot. "Real nice." I leaned back onto Zuko's shoulder again. Before I closed my eyes, I looked up at him.

His face was angry and humiliated. His hand was in such a position that it made no question as to who I belonged to. He gently pulled up the sleeve of my dress, giving out a disgusted sound when he saw the small bruise starting to already form.

_**The Next Week...**_

It was night, that was all that I knew. I was sitting next to Uncle and he was playing with the curls around my head, telling me that he loved them. "They make you look so young," he was saying, but I swatted his hand away and gave him a wry look.

"As if I need to look any younger," I scoffed, turning to lean my head against his arm. Zuko wasn't back yet, and I didn't think that he would be back for a while. My suspicions had been growing for a while, with what Zuko had been doing, but I was too afraid of his anger to really question him. So, I decided to ask Uncle. "Uncle, is Zuko going to be alright?"

He was surprised by the change of thought, but he quickly told me what I wanted to know. "He is...suffering right now, my child. Everything, even what the vile man did to you, has grated on him. I would think that that one event would be the worst for him." He put his hand on mine, and I looked up into his eyes. "He cares about you, my child."

"He has a funny way of showing it," I mumbled, snuggling closer to him. He was warm now, too, and I was very comfortable in his arms.

Suddenly I heard something outside, but I knew that it was Zuko by the sound of his footfalls. He walked in, his clothes rather dirty, and held two large baskets in his hands. I knew where he had gotten them, and I also knew that it had been stealing.

"Where did you get these?" Uncle asked him, accusations in his kind, yellow eyes.

Zuko went to the other side of the room, sitting down and keeping his face neutral. "What does it matter where we got them from?"

"Hmm…" Uncle said seriously, opening the baskets and going through their contents. I saw a basket full of strange pastries, and Iroh tried one of them. He smiled, as apparently it tasted good. I, on the other hand, didn't care about what I knew was stolen goods. I stood up and made my way over to him, he who supposedly cared about me. He had changed, I could tell. He held himself differently. His hair—it was gone. All that was left was a shadow of midnight-dark hair.

"Zuko," I said softly, putting my hand on his arm. He wouldn't look a me. Instead, he grasped my hand and held it against his chest, leaning forwards to gently place a kiss on my neck.

"Everything will be alright soon, Emiko," he said softly against my skin, making me take a deep breath. "It will be. I promise."

_**The Next Day...**_

I looked at the pile of golden treasures that now sat next to me, including a beautiful silk dress that looked as if it belonged to someone's mistress. I felt sick as I let the materials flow over my hands, and as Uncle picked up a teapot that was completely golden. "Looks like you did some serious shopping," the old man said, sitting down next to me near our small fire. "Where did you get the money?" Maybe it wasn't accusation, but a caring lecture. Then again, I was kind of accusing Zuko at that time, too. We'd promised each other that we'd only get the necessities, and that was it.

Zuko avoided the question. "Do you like your new teapot?" he asked as he walked toward the other end of the cave. I got up, having to get out of the vicinity of the dress, and sat down next to him. He leaned forwards and gave me a kiss that was so gentle, that was so full of his own fulfillment, that I couldn't say anything against him.

"To be honest with you, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes in a porcelain pot or a tin cup," Iroh said, making me pull away from Zuko's mouth as it hardened beneath mine. Iroh slowly got up from his spot, following my same path and crouching down next to his nephew. "I know we've had some difficult times lately. We've had to struggle just to get by." He put hand on Zuko's shoulder. "But it's nothing to be ashamed of. There is a simple honor in poverty."

Zuko shook his head and shrugged away from Uncle, but my hands on his back seemed to be fine. I let my fingers trace the muscles of his back, wondering if this man could ever find himself in this world. "There's no honor for me without the Avatar." Just hearing those words again made my heart ache.

"Zuko…" Uncle sighed, making me think that I shouldn't be in this place, not with them, not as they spoke heart-to-heart. "Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not so sure it would solve our problems. Not now."

The look on his face tore my heart in two, as well as the next words he uttered. "Then there is no hope at all." That was when Zuko pulled away from my hands. He stood up as quickly as he could, and he moved to leave our little cave.

"No, Zuko!" Uncle called after him, but he didn't get up. "You must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give _yourself_. That is the meaning of inner strength."

I didn't think that I'd ever heard anything so wonderful. _Ever_. I hadn't said anything during that time, because Uncle was right. I had to ponder the meaning for a moment, thinking over things I had never even thought about. But…I had always been in dark times. I never gave myself hope; it was those around me whom I helped. Or who helped me. And the power of friendship was something that I never thought would leave me.

Ever.

"Zuko, wait up, will you?" I called, pushing away the vines in my way. I tripped on roots, on dead things that I didn't even want to _think_ about. But Zuko needed me, so I tried to run faster. When I fell, I just got back up. I don't know how many bruises I was going to have, but—

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when I ran into something that felt like a brick wall. Once I was on my butt, I rubbed my back and looked up to see Zuko standing in front of a small pond, glaring down into it. The clearing was pretty, in a midnight-moonlight sort of way. The moon was beaming down onto the pond, making everything have a strangely eery glow.

"Leave me alone," he growled, not looking at me.

I stood up painfully and joined him, standing by his side. I tried to forget about the slight pain, when I knew he had much, much more. "No," I said pointedly as soft as I could, yet still so he could hear it.

"_Why not_," he asked with quiet intensity, and I could hear the pain in his voice. It tore at my heart.

"Because I don't _want_ to leave you alone," I muttered, still not looking at him. I glared down into the icy water below me, thinking about how water and fire were such opposites. Kind of like the sun and the moon. This made me think of the Northern Water Tribe, when the girl, Yue, had given up her life to save the moon. I was her opposite. I was the next sun, just as she had been the next moon, and now was.

I was jarred out of my thoughts yet again when Zuko grabbed me roughly by the arms and shook me. His eyes were crazy, wild, like his sister's, like _my_ sister's. "What is wrong with you?" he shouted, almost jarring my entire body

"What is wrong with _you_?" I asked him angrily, trying to squirm away. His hands hurt, and I felt heat radiating from his fingertips, as if he were about to burn me. And then something happened. At first I didn't know what it was. Some kind of force pushed my face to the side, and my cheek was numb. Then the heat filled that area and I realized what happened.

Zuko had backhanded me.

He looked at his hand and then me with horror, not understanding what had happened or why. I took in deep, slow breaths and waited for him to say something. They may have staggered, but mostly I kept them steady. My eyes were burning, trying not to cry, and my throat was sore and tight.

But he never did say anything. He just stayed in the same place, the same expression on his face as he looked from his hand to my face.

"I should hit you back, you realize that," I mumbled to him, looking at anything but his face. When he said nothing, I glared at him furiously. "After everything that Uncle's done for you, you decide to up and run?" For a reason I didn't know, I wasn't yelling at him. Instead, I was talking with complete control.

"You…you _aren't_ going to hit me?" he asked, sounding a little disappointed.

I looked away again, taking a deep breath. "Sometimes it hurts worse not to."

He stayed silent as he clenched the fist he hit me with and looked back into the icy blue water.

"You're hurting him, I hope you know," I said accusingly, my voice a whisper. "And if you keep hurting him, you'll eventually hurt yourself."

"I—"

"And!" I interrupted, holding up a hand, "I don't want you to hurt him. If he gets harmed, I get hurt in the process. Because, Zuko, just so you know, I _love_ him. He's like the father I never had. So let's get one thing straight." I poked him in the chest and glared up into his eyes, those eyes which were usually glared or passion-filled. But now they were filled with pain. "Either you change your attitude or _leave_. Maybe while you're gone, you'll become different. But until then, think about what I just told you."

Suddenly, his lips burning hungrily against mine quieted my next statement. He forcefully grasped my hips pulling me closer, hurting me with his grasp. I squirmed under him when he pushed our pelvises together, but he wasn't thinking about anything, only this, especially when he pushed me back against the tree and hurt me, but he didn't stop.

I tried not to question him as he ravaged me, especially when I started to comply. It was so hard to resist him, it always had been. My tongue fought with his, and this only made him savagely slant his mouth against mine over and over and over again. He put himself between my legs, and I groaned from the friction it caused where I wanted him most.

His lips still attacking mine with a force, he pulled one of my legs up over his hip, putting his covered manhood completely against me, perfectly molding to me.

This brought me back to reality. I clenched my eyes shut and prepared for the anger, and it actually came this time. I put my hands on his stomach and pushed forwards, feeling his body fly back, heat erupting from my hands.

Tears stung my eyes, and I clenched my teeth together, feeling horrible and disgusting. "Don't _ever_ do that again. I don't even want you to _look_ at you anymore until you've changed." I started to walk away, but then I stopped at the place where I entered the small clearing. "Come back when you think you're ready," I mumbled, and I knew that at that moment, my heart was breaking.

I walked back towards the cave, feeling my brain about to explode of emotion and saw Uncle sitting outside of it, drinking tea, sitting on a small chair that Zuko had stolen from some unlucky soul. He smiled and sat up as I came into camp. "Well hello, Emiko! How's—!"

He was cut off, considering that I threw myself into his arms. I dug my head into his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Oh I love you, Uncle!"

He patted my back hesitantly and wrapped his arms around me, returning the hug. "Emiko, what happened with you and Zuko…?" He picked up my chin and looked at my tear-stained face. Then he put his hand on the cheek that his nephew backhanded and gave me a concerned look.

"I—"

Uncle put a gentle hand on my lips, shaking his head. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

I smiled and dug my head back into his chest, hugging the teddy bear-of-a-man. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, becoming more and more like my father every moment I spent with him.

_**The Next Morning**_

I awoke to the sound of rustling pottery and saw Iroh beside me, making more tea. "I'm glad you are awake, Emiko," he chuckled, handing me a cup of it. "I was getting kind of worried!"

"That I wouldn't wake up?" I asked, feeling extremely confused. Usually I wasn't that way when I first woke up, but I couldn't remember… All I knew was that a thin film covered my eyes and my right cheek stung a little.

And then everything that happened hit me. No pun intended.

"U-Uncle?" I asked, trying to hold my tea but finding it hard as it shook in my hands. "I-is Zuko back yet?"

He shook his head, but then that head turned to a rustling bush. Zuko dusted his shirt free of leaves and then looked at me. His face was emotionless, but I wished that he would've said something to me. Zuko then turned towards his Uncle who was tending to the teapot. "Uncle, I thought a lot about what you said," he told the back of the old General.

Uncle turned toward him, pleased. "You did? Good, good."

"It's helped me realized something…" he said without malice, but also without hesitation. I stiffened and waited for what Zuko and I talked over. "We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together. We need to find our own way."

Uncle took me in his arms and hugged me against him, smoothing out my hair as I stood there, emotionless.

* * *

**We all know how things happen in the story, but Emiko sees things a little differently. Here's a look at the next chapter, "Memories:"**

Now I was looking out, yet looking in, way down. The lights in my brain were dimming. I could see my memories, sad or happy, and instantly wished that I had had more happy ones.

I saw Zuko, standing there defensively with his eyes locked angrily on to me. Then the memory switched to one of him dying, or at least when I thought it. Lastly, I saw Zuko riding away from me on the ostrich-horse.

The astro-projection of me flinched away from the memories, trying to remember the better ones. But…for some reason, a metaphorical lock was barring them from me, corralling them in a small circle while the awful ones got larger and larger.

I suddenly felt the pain of every injury I had ever accumulated physically. The long scar on my side opened, a small paper cut on my finger, even a tiny cut on my knee. More and more, and blood flowed.

Suddenly, as fast as they came, they left.

And then I knew why.

Emotional. That was what I wasn't feeling. The pain of my sister's love I wanted, the hurt of my brother's cold shoulder, my father's. Then came the pain of Pebble, the Freedom Fighters, Jun, the Pirates, and finally my mother.

I couldn't do anything, but I knew I was practically choking on the memories.

And then it all went dark.


	4. Memories

**I...! Have nothing to say. Other than that this first part is a continuation from Emiko's memory of killing her mother as a 5-year-old. (That part of the story is in "The Beginning of the Daughter of the Sun.")**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. So obviously you shouldn't sue me, as I am a very poor teenager.****

* * *

**

**Memories**

**El**_**even Years Ago**_

I ran out the back door of the building. It was all I could do, barely even that, though, with the guilt, the fright, sitting heavily on my shoulders.

Okay, so maybe I was only six, and maybe I was small, but I wasn't _dumb_. I knew what had happened, other than the fog and power that had suddenly come over me. My mother was dead. And I had done it. And I knew was that I didn't want to use or see that power ever again.

I didn't stop running until I was in at the other side of the town.

I hid in an alleyway mumbling to myself, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault…" You know, I don't know how long I was actually there. Lights dimmed… I felt my stomach rumble once, but then I completely dismissed it. I had a headache, and I could feel the bags under my eyes growing heavier.

"What's all your fault, child?" a soothing voice asked me. I looked up to see an older man with a grey beard and a balding head squatting in front of me. He was practically a teddy bear, with a big tummy and crinkly eyes.

And yet I knew that I couldn't trust him. "G-g-go-go away!" I ordered, shooing him with my hands.

He chuckled knowingly and ignored my little protest. "Would you like to play a game of Pai Sho with me?"

I shook my head and looked away, curling back up into a ball. It was hard not to look into her bright, friendly topaz eyes. "I-I d-don't know what t-that is."

He laughed a hearty laugh, and it scared me into a sitting position. "Then how would you like some tea?" he asked, making me put my head in my arms. His smile went away, and suddenly he was serious. "I'm sure that whatever you did, you didn't mean to do it."

The thoughts jumbling in my little head made me even more scared, and I started crying once more. I jumped up and wrapped my arms around the large teddybear of a man, sobbing into his uniform. "I'm sorry, Mommy!" I cried, tears and convulsions wracking my body. He patted my back and held me close, comforting me as if he knew what I did but forgave me.

How could anyone forgive me, though, with what I did? I was a monster, just like that woman in the street said.

"Why don't you come with me?" he suggested quietly after the crying turned into sobs.

I was hesitant. Mother always taught me that strangers were bad. I wasn't to talk to them, I wasn't to even acknowledge them. I'd already done both. But I looked at this man and only saw kindness. He was caring, if maybe a little sad on the inside. When I nodded, he smiled and took my hand, walking me out into the moonlight.

It had to be a full moon, of course, and I felt even weaker after crying. Crying usually made me feel better, but tonight it didn't. I watched my feet, at least until the man laughed. I looked up. Laugh lines crinkled, making him appear even older even though he was only maybe in his fifties. "It seems as if there is more to you than meets the eye."

Taking my hand from his, I ran my fingers through my hair by pulling it to one shoulder: the shoulder that was not facing him. My hair must have set him off. It was always different from everyone else's, and I didn't know why. "Stupid hair…" I mumbled, wondering if I should burn it or not.

"I think it's a wondrous thing," he admitted, looking ahead.

"…You're wrong."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Am I now, Miss…?" Even though he acted like he already knew me.

"Emiko," I replied quietly, not looking at his smile, his eyes that lit up. He was a great man, one who maybe even understood me.

"Ahh… 'Smiling child,'" he intoned, looking towards me for the first time in a while. "I don't see any smile."

Ready to get the attention off of me, I asked, "What's your name?"

"You can call me Uncle." He knew that I was ready to change the subject, and I saw his cheek lift in a perceptive smile.

I nodded and showed a slight grin. "Uncle…I like that. Thank you, Uncle."

For the first time, I actually looked at my surroundings. We were in the middle of the town in the park where I frequently saw old men playing on weird round boards.

Uncle saw me looking at them strangely, and he smiled. "Would you like me to teach you how to play Pai Sho?"

"Um…" I stalled. Should I have been worrying about different things? Was I supposed to be with this man? And why did he want to play this game? Hesitantly, I nodded. Mother must have sent him from the Spirit World to help me get through all of this.

Uncle pulled up a seat and slid into one on the opposite side. Then, he motioned towards the one he pulled up. I sat down in it and looked at the board, the moon's light guiding the man along as he taught me.

The first tile he sat down was one right in the middle. On it was the picture of a flower. It was on the tip of my tongue…

"The Lotus Tile," I intoned, gazing at it.

A gleam shone in the man's eye, before he turned his head towards a tea cart that was passing. "My good man!" he cried to the cart.

The tea cart stopped, the owner looking over in surprise. The next thing I knew, the cart was by us and Uncle was buying a teapot. I didn't even hear what he ordered; only I saw that the owner was nervous all of a sudden.

"Th-thank you for your patronage," he said as he quickly scooted away.

Uncle had apparently bought the whole tea set, because he was pouring tea out of the porcelain teapot into its matching cups. He handed me one, nodding at me when I gave it a quixotic look.

I nodded back hesitantly and took a sip of the tea. "Ooh!" I exclaimed, clamping a hand over my mouth. It was hot! "Wh…what is this?" Amazingly, even though it burnt my tongue to no extent, it was _delicious_!

"That, my dear, is Jin Sang Tea." All of a sudden, his eyes were set on the table. "Now, the key to Pai Sho is strategy. The blossom that has yet to bloom and grow cannot eat the fruit and taste its mysteries."

His words confused me. Hey, I was only five after all.

We spent a lot of time together, him helping me learn and me teaching him how fun it was to be young.

The sun started to rise, and energy seemed to flow through me, like it always did. "The sun!" I exclaimed, jumping from my seat and twirling in the first rays of the morning.

Uncle chuckled. "So you like the sun, do you?"

"I _love_ it!" I cried, twirling, basking, and loving the beautiful look of the sun rising over the trees of the Fire Nation.

I wondered why he knew so much, but I quickly dismissed it and watched him get up out of his seat. He started to stroll away, a hesitant look on his face.

"Where are you going?" I asked, following him and tugging on his shirt to get him to stop. He wasn't supposed to leave!

He looked hesitant. "…I need to take you back home."

"No!" I cried, pulling away. "I can't go back! I hurt my _mommy_!"

Uncle picked me up and put me over his shoulder, walking along. "What is your family name, Sunshine?"

"I'm not telling you!" I squealed, struggling to get away.

He sighed. "Please?"

I thought for a moment, and finally came to a conclusion. "I…I didn't mean to. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Sunshine, I know that."

"And you were sent by my mother from the Spirit World, right?"

His step stopped for a second, but then he kept on going. "I don't know about that, my dear. Maybe it was just a stroke of fate. Or it could be the work of the Spirits. We will never know."

"But…"

"Your family name, Sunshine," he begged, a pleading look in his eyes. "Please. I would like nothing more than to help you. Your family is waiting, and I'm sure are worried sick."

Again, I stopped and thought. If I went back, Jasmine was already gone so she couldn't blame me. Ryuu was already ten and practicing for the military, so he would have something to keep him occupied. When something was troubling Father, he just worked more. So, I'd be left alone with my nanny and have to never Firebend again.

"…Zhao," I said suddenly, making Uncle lose his step again. "My family name is Zhao."

He nodded, and the next thing I knew, we were walking down my street. Uncle set me down and gave me an encouraging smile, squeezing my hand. Then he used his other hand to knock on the door.

It opened.

"Hello?" the voice asked, the door only halfway open.

Uncle cleared his throat. "Excuse me Sir, but—"

"General Iroh!" my father cried in surprise. His face was shocked, the sideburns on him looking nowhere close to Uncle's even thought they both looked like large, huggable monkeys.

Uncle laughed. "Yes, ad ease soldier," he commanded Zhao. "I think I have something you are looking for…" He nudged me forwards, but I wouldn't move.

I looked out from behind Uncle's legs. "Hi daddy…"

"Emiko!" he cried, picking me up in his arms and swinging me around. "Oh, Emiko are you alright, sweetheart?"

"I'm okay thanks to Uncle," I admitted after he sat me down.

He looked at me sternly and bent down to my level. "You will address him as _General Iroh_."

"Its okay, Zhao," Uncle told him with a chuckle, smiling at his soldier. "I already told her it was alright."

My father nodded and stood back up, standing at attention. "What can I do to repay you, Sir?"

Uncle laughed and gave me a loving look. "Could I take your daughter tomorrow, Lieutenant?"

My father bowed and looked pained. "I'm sorry, General, but my wife's funeral is tomorrow."

Tears welled in my eyes and white fire filled the area around my feet. "It wasn't my fault, daddy!"

He pulled me against his chest and smoothed down my hair, letting me soak his nightclothes with tears. "It's okay…shh…" Then, before I knew it, he sent me inside. I heard my father and Uncle talk a few more minutes before Uncle left, and I was left alone with my gnawing thoughts.

_**Iroh – Present Day**_

Iroh watched as Emiko went around, fixing to get rid of any evidence that they had camped there. She was silent the entire time, and he wondered what she had said to Zuko before she had come back.

He had noticed the bruise forming on her right cheek, the way her eyes welled up when he looked at her. Zuko probably slapped her, and then she had some kind of fit that told him to leave her alone for good. Now she felt horrible. What do you say when everything you say is the reason why they left you in the end? How do you cry when every tear you shed won't bring them back?

Yet still, she walked around as if she was half-dead, half-alive. She never talked, never looked him in the eye. She was like a small child who did something wrong and was afraid to admit it.

He watched her sit next to the fire and huddle into herself, her eyes intent on the middle of the inferno. Finally, she reached out and swiveled her wrist around, trying to bend the fire.

Uncle knew what was going to happen, and it did.

Or didn't, in this situation.

Emiko's hand just kept swirling in a circle. No flames circled up her arm, no heat swirled around her like it was supposed to. She seemed to choke on her air, not understanding why it wasn't going the way she planned. Then she tried again and again, but nothing happened.

Iroh clenched his eyes shut and turned away. He appeared ashamed, and he was. He heard her cries of disbelief as she tried over and over again, but couldn't stand to watch her fail. Her Firebending wouldn't work, no matter what she did.

It had happened to him as well, when Lu-ten had died. Such a sad time, one that he did not like to remember. He ran away, back into the mountains and away from everyone. Finally when he ended his flight, he tried to Firebend his anger but found that he couldn't.

"Come on…" she was egging herself. She cautiously moved her hands next to the blaze, but then pulled them back. She exhaled angrily. "Come _on_! Put you hands into the fire…"

Uncle walked up beside her and looked down into the small fire, one that she was putting out by her futile attempts to Firebend. He didn't say anything, only stood there.

"…_Explain this to me_," she whispered, anxiety mulling her words. "I have the power, but…AUGH!" She tried to stand but failed, grasping her chest. He watched her wheeze, anxiety turning her breaths shallow.

_Turning white and senses dire,_ Uncle thought bitterly, knowing the symptoms. "Emiko…" He rubbed his temples and looked away from the girl who was struggling to breathe. "You've moved from one extreme to the other. Once you were a powerful Firebender, and now your grief has taken that away from you." He couldn't help her with this, and he knew that he couldn't.

"…_I don't_ _understand_."

"You've got to pull up, pull out of this mess." He knew that it was from Zuko leaving. Perhaps she had loved him to some extent, but neither of them would be able to love until they found themselves.

Uncle looked down to see her staring into the fire, but now he saw something different about her. Her eyes didn't blink, even as an ember flew into her eyes, and her hair seemed to glow.

Then he knew that she was fighting a battle within herself, something else that again he could not help with.

_**Emiko**_

Now I was looking out, yet looking in, way down. The lights in my brain were dimming. I could see my memories, sad or happy, and instantly wished that I had had more happy ones.

I saw Zuko, standing there defensively with his eyes locked angrily on to me. Then the memory switched to one of him dying, or at least when I thought it. Lastly, I saw Zuko riding away from me on the ostrich-horse.

The astro-projection of me flinched away from the memories, trying to remember the better ones. But…for some reason, a metaphorical lock was barring them from me, corralling them in a small circle while the awful ones got larger and larger.

I suddenly felt the pain of every injury I had ever accumulated physically. The long scar on my side opened, a small paper cut on my finger, even a tiny cut on my knee. More and more, and blood flowed.

Suddenly, as fast as they came, they left.

And then I knew why.

Emotional. That was what I wasn't feeling. The pain of my sister's love I wanted, the hurt of my brother's cold shoulder, my father's. Then came the pain of Pebble, the Freedom Fighters, Jun, the Pirates, and finally my mother.

I couldn't do anything, but I knew I was practically choking on the memories.

And then it all went dark.

_**Iroh**_

Iroh didn't know how long he sat there, or why, but he just had to watch over her in this state of unconsciousness. It was a while, though, because the sun went down in the distance and his head was starting to ache from keeping his eyes open that long.

He leaned down to check her pulse, and found a steady thump of heartbeats. Once in a while he would see her take a deep intake of breath, and that would be when he checked her pulse because then it would be racing.

Uncle sighed. It would be a while before her eyes would close and she would lay down on her side, unaware of any time that passed. He sighed yet again and got ready to get up, but stopped when Emiko suddenly seemed to choke. He pulled away and glanced at her, she who had tears streaming from wide, open eyes.

Emiko started shuddering, shuddering so hard that she fell on her butt and then her side and curled up in a little ball on her side.

"Emiko!" Iroh cried, rushing over to her at once. He pulled her close to his chest and tried to absorb the convulsions racking her body. "Emiko…"

She finally answered with a sob and pushed her head into his chest, crying her eyes out like she had when she was younger. He knew the pain, knew how it felt to lose someone you loved.

The silence for the rest of that time was not an uncomfortable one, but of understanding to let the other think. Iroh knew that Emiko was thinking about Zuko, and he himself was wondering the same thing:

_Where was his nephew?_

_**Emiko**_

It had been so horrible.

The whole time I was in that place, that state of mind, I don't know what happened… There was a large fire in the center of the memories that was slowly dying. I knew that it was my white fire, but everything seemed to be in black and white.

So, yes, the fire was white.

I looked into it, and suddenly I saw a little girl. She was dancing around with streams of fire trailing behind her, looking as peaceful as can be. Somehow I knew it was me, but another part of my brain didn't want to believe it.

I kept drifting closer, closer to see what was happening to the girl. She just stood there and smiled. Suddenly I heard someone scream, "Zoë!" The girl turned and looked up to a woman.

Who looked just like me.

My astro-projection self stopped and looked back into the fire. I moved back towards it and saw the girl called Zoë being called over by the woman.

Zoë was maybe five or six, judging from her height. I watched as she ran over to the woman calling her, jumping for joy. She held her arms up and the woman picked her up, smiling.

"How are you?" the woman I thought was me asked.

The little girl hugged the woman around her neck and smiled. "I'm fine, mother."

Mother. So this woman couldn't be me! …But she looked like me, so…but then again, I also thought that the little girl was me. But she hadn't been, because that wasn't what I looked like when I was that young.

Or at least that's what I thought.

I tried to move closer to the fire, tried to keep in contact with it even a little. I almost touched it with the edge of my fingers, but then the fire died even more. I tried again, and the same thing happened. The farther away I got from the blaze, the bigger it got.

I didn't want the fire to go out. I truly didn't. But if I wanted to figure out what was going on, I had to do it. I reached out one last time and almost touched it when something, some kind of force, pulled me back into the darkness.

All around me the bad memories congregated. It was like they wanted something, wanted an explanation as to why there were so many, but I couldn't tell them.

Finally, everything went dark as they surrounded me and finally consumed my astro-form.

Uncle rocked me back and forth, whispering soothing words in my ear. I wished I was paying attention; maybe it would've made me feel better. But I wasn't.

Suddenly I pushed away and walked back over to the dying embers of the fire. I held my hand over it and tried to make them come back to life, but…

Nothing happened.

I tried again, only to see the embers die out even more. Again and again I persisted, trying to make the fire that used to come so easily.

Then, Uncle was at my side. He gently took my shaking hands and held them in his own before looking at me. His eyes told me that he felt sorry, that he wished he could do something.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't help me, just as I couldn't help him. He couldn't bring back Zuko, he couldn't save my Firebending, and he definitely couldn't be to me what he most wanted:

My father.

I ran back into the circle of his arms and sobbed. "…_What is happening to me_?"

He didn't want to answer. I almost thought for a second that he _couldn't_ answer. "…Your chi is blocked."

"I meant about my Firebending!" I cried, pushing away and curling into my own little ball. "I…I can't do it anymore." And I think that was what scared the most. Especially when he nodded.

"Until you get over whatever intense pain you are feeling, you will not be able to get over this."

I couldn't believe it. When Zuko left, he didn't just break my heart or give me that horrible feeling in my stomach, (not counting the sting of my cheek,) he also took away the one thing that I valued most…well, other than him himself.

I could feel the chi in my body. I could feel it building up like it was a clogged drain. My anger was being blocked, as was my Firebending so I couldn't let the first out using the latter.

It was gone. Gone. Just as Zuko was.

…_Gone_.

* * *

**Awh! Emiko lost her Bending! I figured it could happen. **

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter, "The Chase:"**

My back stiffened when I heard a familiar voice. "_You_," it growled.

I turned around and stood in a defensive stance to look upon my sister. She hadn't changed in the little bit of time we had spent apart, but now she knew that I was a traitor and I _had_ changed. She still had long, brown hair that she held in a ponytail. She was wearing a Fire Army uniform instead of Navy, like the last time I'd seen her, and her scarily familiar topaz eyes were full of fury and hatred.

"…_Jasmine_," I breathed. I quickly took the sword I'd acquired from Zuko's "findings" out from the belt on my hip and she laughed.

"A _sword_?" she asked mockingly, pulling out daggers from behind her back. One of them was just the hilt, and I knew that she would bend her fire into it and use it against me. "What happened to your Firebending, you poor girl?"

I couldn't tell her that I had lost it. Only Uncle knew and I planned on keeping it that way. My _sister _sure as Koh didn't need to know.


	5. The Chase

**In this chapter, an old, familiar friend notices our travellers. Lets just hope she remembers them!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I am but a poor, humble bookstore worker. And a poor teenager.**

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**The Chase**

Toph walked along between rocks and trees, not really caring about her destination, as long as she was away from the idiots whom she had _though_ were her friends. She didn't have to help them. They could find someone else to teach the "Avatar" Earthbending.

Suddenly, she stopped; she felt a vibration in the Earth. Her feet then turned to the left, sensing two people walking conspicuously. She took a breath she Earthbended quickly, causing a rumble of earth to jet across the ground to where the vibrations emanated from. The bending hit a rock and made dust shoot up behind it. She heard a female shriek and a male grunt.

She peeked up around the rock cautiously, noticing now that the man was old—in his late sixties, perhaps, while the girl was young and seemed very, very familiar. They hadn't noticed her yet. The girl stood up slowly and helped the older man, saying, "What the Abyss was that?" The girl was only about an inch taller than Toph, her body mass a little too much for her height. And the old man was very heavy-set.

"Who are you?" she demanded, not letting down her guard.

The girl instantly jumped to attention, but then Toph could tell that her demeanor faltered. "Oh. Um...hello."

"You look as if you need to talk," the old man said, and Toph felt like she needed to listen to this man instantly. He seemed wise beyond his years, and she knew that the girl—Emiko, she thought her name was—had been a good friend at a very boring dance/meeting once upon a time. She'd given the little Earthbender a lot to think about, too. That had been a long time ago, though.

The man quickly and quietly set up a small campfire, using tools from the pack that the girl had been carrying. He pulled out a small, tin teapot and got it ready, and they all sat around it. Toph didn't know what the scene looked like, but it felt peaceful. The girl, though, was troubled, and a bad vibration was emanating from her.

"Here you go," Emiko mumbled, handing out what Toph felt was a small cup. She reached out without looking and took it, mumbling some kind of thank-you to her.

The old man started stroking something on his chin, which was probably a beard. "You seem a little too young to be traveling alone," he said, as if trying to get some kind of information out of her.

She wasn't going to budge. Instead, she said, "I once met a girl who said that adventure has no age limit." Toph took a sip of her tea.

The other girl sat her cup down, though. "Oh really? What was she like?"

"You should know, Emiko."

The girl was a little happier now. "I _thought_ that you'd recognize me, Toph."

The old man seemed relieved, and it radiated off of him in waves. "…You two know each other?"

"Yes," Emiko said, and that seemed to be the end of their conversation. "And I don't believe I told you to travel alone, Toph."

"I know what you're thinking," she told them, not bothering to look at them only to "look" down at the cup in her hands. "I look like I can't handle being by myself."

Emiko shook her head. "I wasn't thinking that."

"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea!" she exclaimed, actually disliking tea but trying to be grown up and pretend like she liked it. She was used to being waited on, but she didn't want it to happen from her so-called friend.

"I poured your tea because I _wanted_ to, and for no other reason," the old man said, (was his name Uncle?) He seemed stern, but kind. Toph felt like she would like this man if she'd gotten more time to talk with him.

"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me. But I can take care of myself _by_ myself." She felt the two people suddenly become silent, sad, their bodies slumping sadness.

"You sound like my nephew," Uncle told her. Emiko choked on her tea. "Always thinking you need to do things on your own without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you. Not that I love you; I just met you."  
She laughed, knowing that she was right; this man was nice and funny, and there was no need to have her guard up while around him. "So, where is your nephew?"

Emiko was strangely silent, staring down into what Toph thought was her cup, and Iroh spoke up again. "We've been chasing him, actually."

"Is he lost?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of Emiko. It was a reflex, "looking," but she was really just trying to feel with her other sense what the girl was really feeling.

"Yes, a little bit," Iroh said softly. "His life has recently changed and he's going through very difficult times. He is trying to figure out who he is and he went away."

That was apparently an understatement, if Emiko's snort was any indication. Toph felt her face crinkling in confusion. "So…now you're following him."

"I know he doesn't want me around right now," Uncle told her, looking at Emiko, "or either of us. But, if he needs us, we'll be there."

"Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it," Toph said softly, wondering if her parents cared as much as this man did about his nephew as they did about her. She wondered if her friends were missing her, and knew that she felt horrible for what had happened. Toph stood up, knowing what she had to do. "Thank you."

"Our pleasure! Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights!" Uncle told her, a large smile on his face.

"No," she disagreed, closing her eyes while smiling a little and shaking her head. "Thank you for what you said…it helped me."

"I'm glad."

Toph picked up her bag and started to leave, but turned back to us. "Oh, and about your nephew? Maybe you should tell him that you need _him_ too." Uncle thought about that, and then Toph turned back one last time. "It'll be okay, Emiko. Just keep believing that you can do it, and it'll happen more or less how it should."

"Sure, kid," she said softly, still staring down into her tea. "Sure."

_**Zuko**_

It was over. He'd been hit in the head, and he knew that he couldn't move. Azula and that girl, Emiko's sister, were going to get the Avatar. It would have only been a matter of time, but it still hurt nonetheless. He would lose his honor, his throne, and his father's love because he couldn't get up from the position on the ground where his younger sister had laid him flat.

Suddenly hands were on his back, grasping his shirt, and he was pulled straight to his feet. He turned around slowly, wary of his legs giving out, to see that Emiko was glowering at him, her beautiful yellow eyes darkened in anger. "Get up!" He didn't htink that he'd ever seen something more beautiful than her at that moment, glaring at him, her fists clenched, a firey anger forming around her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but she grabbed his arm instead and shouted, "Damn it, _move_!"

They all ran towards the battle.

Azula launched herself at Aang who jumped out of the way. But Jasmine was right behind her and sliced the air with her daggers. Sokka threw his boomerang and blocked the trajectory of the weapons, but he left himself unarmed. Jasmine saw this and attacked him. The Princess and the allies traded blasts and danced around each other, but it was clear that Azula was outnumbered. Even with Jasmine fighting Sokka, the two skilled fighters were no match for the Avatar and his teachers.

The two Fire Nation women were falling backwards in an organized fashion, when suddenly a small girl with dark hair and Earth Kingdom clothes pushed them to the ground. Emiko ran faster when she saw the girl. Azula got up and started to run, Jasmine covering her flanks from behind. While the Princess was running, she traded blasts with them. She turned and ran down an ally. As she reached the end, she ran into Iroh's belly and bounced off, looking completely and utterly confused.

Sokka, Aang, Katara, Toph, and Zuko closed in on Azula, whose back was to the corner of a burnt out building.

But Jasmine caught hold of Iroh from behind. He flipped her over his back to send her sprawling on the dirt. She sat up and tripped him with a roundhouse kick of fire. He fell back and hit his head against a beam of wood laying there. Zuko tried to catch her for doing this, and he knew that a large bruise was going to form, but Iroh got up anyways and Zuko couldn't catch the girl. The worst that could happen was a concussion.

It was then that Jasmine saw something—or some_one_, in this matter—that made her act like a Sabre-tooth-moose-lioness pouncing for her kill.

_**Emiko**_

My back stiffened when I heard a familiar voice. "_You_," it growled.

I turned around and stood in a defensive stance to look upon my sister. She hadn't changed in the little bit of time we had spent apart, but now she knew that I was a traitor and I _had_ changed. She still had long, brown hair that she held in a ponytail. She was wearing a Fire Army uniform instead of Navy, like the last time I'd seen her, and her scarily familiar topaz eyes were full of fury and hatred.

"…_Jasmine_," I breathed. I quickly took the sword I'd acquired from Zuko's "findings" out from the belt on my hip and she laughed.

"A _sword_?" she asked mockingly, pulling out daggers from behind her back. One of them was just the hilt, and I knew that she would bend her fire into it and use it against me. "What happened to your Firebending, you poor girl?"

I couldn't tell her that I had lost it. Only Uncle knew and I planned on keeping it that way. I stayed in the same stance as we circled each other. Even though I _couldn't_ Firebend, I still acted like I could. Zuko didn't know yet, and I wasn't planning on telling him. I didn't want him to blame himself—

Wait, yes I did. It was his fault that I lost it; it was his fault that I was in this strange state; it was his fault that he hurt Uncle and me.

"Aw, little girly still upset about what happened oh so long ago?" she asked teasingly, and I wondered how _she _remembered that I'd vowed never to Firebend again. That had been a long time ago, though. "You _still_ are abiding to that damn vow you took back then?" A _tsk_-ing sound came out of the back of her throat, and she shook her head with a smile on her face. "Shame."

Azula had no place to go behind my little one-on-one with my sister. "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together," I heard her say, trying to use her voice to get rid of the anger for my sister I'd started to feel. Now I was looking at them, and I stopped my fighting to watch. She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

I turned my gaze from Azula for one moment and saw Toph. I looked at the bald monk and then back at her. Finally, I figured out that she was traveling with the Avatar. It kind of made me proud in a way that I could help her with her problems, and maybe traveling with the Avatar was the way to do it.

Jasmine then noticed my distraction and sent a handful of falling stars at my head, making me slice my blade against them. The metal clashed and sent sparks flying everywhere.

Examining the blade, I saw that one of the stars was stuck in the metal. Angrily, I lunged my sword towards her. She dodged and elbowed me in the back, sending me sprawling onto the ground. I gasped for air and rolled out of the way before her sai cut into the back of my head. I jumped up and dodged out of the way when her shuriken was thrown at me, and she cursed loudly.

_Damn it, how many weapons does she **have**?_

My blade was now on the ground beside her. She smiled and picked it up, examining it as if it were something she was planning on buying. "This is _beautiful_," she said mockingly, testing its weight. "A bet certain pirates would _love_ to get their hands on this baby."

My heart froze, as did my glare. "Get your hands off my sword, bitch!"

The words surprised her and made her gasp. But she got over the shock and smiled evilly. "Well, if you insist…" She took the falling star that was stuck in then metal in her hand and examined it before her face turned to pure fury. Jasmine brought the star down onto the sword with as much force as she could, making the blade shatter.

It had never occurred to me that something could happen to the sword. I _needed_ that sword_**. **_My face was in a clenched grimace, and I shook my head back and forth, unable to believe what had happened. There was no way that Jasmine was _that_ cruel, to take away my only weapon. I wanted to tackle her, but for once in my life my anger was subsided. I really couldn't get mad at her for the first time _ever_.

She was just…_crazy_.

Azula continued in the background, but that's all it was: background noise. "I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A Princess surrenders with honor."

There was a sudden pause, and then something happened that made time seem to slow down. Jasmine was staring at me, her eyes wide with surprise. Her mouth fell open and she glanced behind me, unable to believe something, apparently.

And then the burning sensation hit and time fast-forwarded once more. Maybe even faster, this time. I fell forwards into the dirt, my eyes fogging over. At first I felt nothing, and I wondered why I couldn't move, or why I felt like I was in shock. I looked down, noticing the hole in the front of my clothing. I moved my hand to gently touch the burned flesh beneath it, making myself moan.

I heard Zuko scream, and then the sound of earth came from his direction. Air was swirled around, water shot, fire blazed. I couldn't make sense of it.

But then Jasmine's feet were right in front of me.

She bent down and placed my head in her lap, my lifeless eyes staring up at her tear-stained face. "Emiko?" she asked softly, and I noticed that her hands were shaking. Jasmine pushed away the strand of hair on my forehead and I felt a tear land there. She was…_crying_. For _me_. This all coming from the girl who had just been trying to kill me moments before. And I still couldn't move.

Another pang ran through my stomach and spots covered my vision. It started hurting. My body convulsed uncontrollably, and Jasmine held me against her, tears running down her face.

Someone came up behind her, and then Zuko was staring down on me with wide eyes. He dropped to his knees beside my sister. When his hands reached out to take me, she pulled me closer and screeched like a banshee. "_Don't touch her!_" she cried. "Get _away_ from us!"

More shadows surrounded us, and then I saw that Water Tribe girl stood over me. What was her name again…? A grey-headed man joined them, along with a boy that had blue arrow tattoos, a green girl that for some reason I was proud of, and the Water Tribe girl's brother.

"I can help," the girl said quietly, reaching out to put a hand on Jasmine's shoulder. My sister slumped for a moment of weakness. I could still see her face, her face which looked defeated. Another tear landed on my face and her hand clenched mine.

She laid my head on the ground and suddenly was standing up. Then, before I could tell, she was running away. Away from everything, probably to find Azula. I knew that they hadn't gotten her, because she wasn't anywhere and I hadn't heard anything.

Suddenly Zuko was above me. New tears were falling on my face now, and he held me against him like _his_ life depended on it. Iroh was next to him, and they were both huddled over me.

Aang tried to walk near, but Zuko turned towards him and yelled, "GET AWAY!" Fire erupted from his hand as he flung it towards them, and they cowered before it. "Stay with me, Emiko…" I heard Zuko whisper as the last of my will drained out of me. "_Please stay with me…_"

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**DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. ← (I've only used that like five times at the end of a chapter with this story.) Anyways, I know its all cheezy, but I hope you all like it? And the whole 180 with Jasmine is, even though she "hates" her sister, if YOUR "loved one" was about to die, you would want to hold them close too, no matter how much you "hated" them. Or I think. Idk, it sounded good when I wrote it.**

**ANYWAYS, here's a look at the next chapter!**

__

My state of meditation was almost complete. I just had to concentrate on calming my aura and then…

But I would never concentrate on it, because my two-hour long rumination would be interrupted.

It was just then that my wall exploded in a blast of fire and dust…and a small girl. She flew so hard—even after breaking through the pure stone—that she cracked the wall on the other side of the room.

Angry, red eyes look up as her teeth bared themselves. I could've sworn that a hiss escaped, but I tried not to think about it.

I'm in my happy place… _I kept thinking. _You're in you're happy place.

__

She got up and dusted herself off, bitterly mumbling under her breath about her father and how her brother distracted her and a few things that made me want to smile and say, 'that's my girl.' But I kept quite, knowing that she wouldn't even pause to look at her damage or see if anyone was around.

The girl tilted her nose into the air and left.


	6. The Awakening

**The next few chapters are a little...strange. Emiko has always had a little bit of psychic in her, so that she can see things that can either help her or harm her, or things that she needs to know so that she can avoid them in the short-term and keep them in the long-term.**

**Oh, and I want to apologize for the horrible writing in the start of this entire story. It gets better once they get to Ba Sing Se, I promise. Thanks for staying with me during this(:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I am merely putting my toes in its waters.**

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**The Awakening**

_There were no interruptions. _

_I could hear a butter-bird outside, flitting its wings as it looked for nectar. I could hear the leaves rustling against their branches; feel the life force of each and every bud as it tried to grow. The one smell that stood out above all others was the aroma of ginseng tea: Iroh was here. The pollen of a narcissus flower blew in through my open window and around the room. I willed it away so as not to disturb me._

_It did as I pleased._

_I could feel the sun on my back as it shone in through my window. It gave me power. It gave me the absolute control over my senses. Sometimes even my surroundings._

_Like the pollen in the air. I just thought about it leaving me alone and it did. I had no idea what these powers were. When I told Iroh about them, he just smiled like it was natural. Which is exactly what he said. _

_I was the Spirit of the Sun. Or would be, later. Without the "sun" nothing could survive. So if I wanted something natural to happen—besides messing with the elements—it would. My mother, the wonderful woman that she was, was in the Spirit World, watching over everyone, keeping the Firebenders full of life._

_My state of meditation was almost complete. I just had to concentrate on calming my aura and then…_

_But I would never concentrate on it, because my two-hour long rumination would be interrupted._

_It was just then that my wall exploded in a blast of fire and dust…and a small girl. She flew so hard—even after breaking through the pure stone—that she cracked the wall on the other side of the room._

_Angry, red eyes look up as her teeth bared themselves. I could've sworn that a hiss escaped, but I tried not to think about it._

I'm in my happy place… _I kept thinking. _You're in you're happy place.

_She got up and dusted herself off, bitterly mumbling under her breath about her father and how her brother distracted her and a few things that made me want to smile and say, 'that's my girl.' But I kept quite, knowing that she wouldn't even pause to look at her damage or see if anyone was around. _

_The girl tilted her nose into the air and left._

I awoke to a horrible pain in my stomach, feeling someone fixing it up with bandages. Trying to look through the film over my eyes, I suddenly wished that I had the painkillers whether they made me loopy or not.

"Emiko, are you okay?" a voice asked. I tried to mumble something under my breath, but nothing came out. I felt the person squeeze my hand. The dream was still running through my head, over and over again.

"Z…Zuko…?" I asked, lifting my other arm up with difficulty. My hand caressed his cheek, and he put his hand over mine. His warmth flooded through me, filling me with strength.

"You were unconscious," he whispered softly, a pain in his beautiful topaz eyes. "Azula did this to you."

I nodded, my neck stiff, probably from not moving for a while. I slowly felt around what appeared to be a dirt floor, noticing that we were in a small, half-burnt house with perhaps two or three rooms. I tried to get up, but grunted in pain when my entire abdomen refused to move. I looked down to check out the damage and cringed when I saw it. My entire waist was encased in bandages, wrapping up over my shoulder like it needed its own support. Spots of blood were seeping through the new bandage, and I tried not to think about that or the fact that I had no shirt on.

"H-how?" I asked, angered as I clenched my jaw shut. "I don't remember…" It infuriated me. I had already lost my memory once; I didn't need to again.

He slowly sat next to me and touched my shoulders, gently pulling me into his lap. I reveled in the wonder of his warmth, of his familiar body, and I relaxed into him. "It was a surprise attack," he mumbled into my hair, holding me close. "We has her surrounded. I though we had her, finally, but..."

I could still see myself; back then, when I was looking at Toph and being proud. She had left her parents, joining the Avatar. I was fighting with my sister, hearing Azula give up, and then…_lightening_.

I remembered my sister crying over me, Katara and Aang wanting to help, Toph staring with wide eyes, Sokka looking away… Zuko tried to get close but was shunned away from my sister and I. And then…

"Where's Uncle?" I gasped, squirming around in his arms. The pain was worth it, though, as long as I made sure that he was okay. He'd fallen, hard, I'd seen blood.

"Quit moving, Emiko!" Zuko commanded, holding me tighter, yet gentle as far as I was concerned. "You'll start bleeding again!"

"Where is he?"

Zuko bent his head down and heatedly pushed his lips to mine, trying to get me to calm down. I guess it worked since I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer. More tears made their way down my face, and I tried to take my pain out in the kiss between us. With his mouth shoved against mine, I didn't think about my wounds. I didn't think about how the pain of everything in the past few days just hit me again, making the injury hurt even more.

I just thought about the parted lips in front of me, his arms around my back, his warm form pressed against mine. I forced my tongue between his lips, mating them together to get rid of my pain.

He had to literally draw away in order to separate us. "_Emiko_," he growled against my lips, holding me down on the ground by my shoulders. "Enough before you hurt yourself all over again." He pulled his lips away from mine, and I could see the concern in his eyes. He was so worried about me, and I was being selfish.

But I didn't care.

"Zuko," I begged, ignoring my pain, "_where is Uncle_? And _don't_ try to sidetrack me again. You've done that _enough_."

I saw the worry turn to hurt. But he picked me back up with some difficulty anyways, seeing as how he was trying to be careful, and smiled weakly to me after he did. "He's resting in another room. During the fight he fell. His head is just a little bruised. Let him rest."

I sighed in relief and closed my eyes, turning my head to lay it on the Prince's shoulder. _Thank the Spirits…_

He turned his head down and eyed me lovingly. Taking my face in his palm, he tilted my eyes up to look at him. "I'm so glad you're okay…" he whispered, a small, affectionate smile adorning his lips.

I watched his smile turn into something else, and then he started to lean down. His lips brushed against mine, if ever so softly, and he stroked my face with his thumb. When tears cascaded down my cheek, his hand caressed them away.

His lips parted mine slightly, and he sighed, "_Emiko_…"

Instinctively, I slid my hands onto his neck, silently urging his lips to continue when he stopped to drag them along my jaw. One of my hands slid slowly down his chest and rested on his stomach, grabbing the fabric clinging against it and pulling him closer. Finally, he did what I wanted him to and replaced his lips on mine.

How was I so lucky to have him? Why, after everything that we had been through, did he have to suffer to save me? It wasn't fair to _him_.

I barely felt his hand slide from my cheek down my neck, over my shoulder and along my back. He pulled me closer and at the same time leaned me against the wall. With everything that had happened, never once had I felt such relief. His kisses were soft, not rushing as he savored the moment, relief of his own washing over him.

I could sense his feelings. I could taste his fear of losing me, just as I was afraid of losing him once more. It had already happened more than once, and I wasn't going to let it happen again.

His hand touched lightly on my hip and ran its way up my waist. It stroked my bandaged side, and I instantly pulled away and let out a screech so loud that the Spirits had to be waking.

Zuko wrapped his arms around my shoulders and clenched his eyes shut, seeming to want to take away the pain. But it didn't. I shut my eyes as well and leaned breathlessly into Zuko's cage of arms, my chest heaving up and down.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in my hair, his shoulders wracking in sobs it seemed like. "_I'm so sorry_."

Before I could answer, someone interrupted me. "So much for rest," a voice came from across the shack we were in.

Pain instantly forgotten, I watched in anxiety as the teddy-bear-of-a-man walked into the room, holding one hand to his head and using the other to steady himself on the wall.

"Uncle!" I cried, trying to get up.

He glanced at me, worried, and rushed as fast as he could over to where I was sitting. "Please, Sunshine, don't move." When I gave him a hurt look, he wrapped his arms around me in a hug, replacing Zuko's warmth with a different, fatherly warmth. "I don't want you in anymore pain…"

Before I did anything, I saw Zuko walk out of the shack, giving Uncle and me some time alone. I hoped that he wasn't going to beat himself up for accidentally hurting me.

Tears ran down my face as I closed my eyes and returned the hug, still ignoring the pain as much as possible. "I'm so sorry, Uncle."

I felt him shake his head. "No. It is _I_ who should be sorry. I should've known what was happening before it did. I almost _lost_ you…"

I smirked inwardly, but a sad look was on my actual face. "It wouldn't have been that big a loss." I don't know why Uncle was so concerned about me, but he really was. To myself, I wasn't important. In fact, a lot of hurt would be saved many-a-person if I'd never even been born.

"Don't say that," he growled suddenly, pulling away. "Emiko, you have no _idea_ how much you are needed."

"By _who_, Uncle?" I asked, practically shouting. Just breathing hurt my stomach, so you could imagine what talking\yelling did. "My sister? My _Brother_? Maybe Koh himself wants me, but for my _face_, not _me_. Who else, Uncle? _Who_?"

"Me," he whispered dejectedly, pulling away and looking at me sadly. "Me, Emiko."

I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, curling into a ball no matter how much I hurt. "I'm not that significant. You can say that I'm everything to everyone—that someday I'll be important—but I'm _not _and _won't be_!"

"Emiko, you are the most powerful Firebender in the world," Uncle whispered to me, looking intent to tell me this whether I wanted to or not. "You are the essence of the sun, even if you don't believe it."

And I didn't want to. "I don't _care_! That just makes me a war machine. I wouldn't even mind if someone could take away my bending!" It then occurred to me that my bending _was_ gone, and I clenched my eyes shut as I tried to forget about that. "Let someone else take my burdens!" It may have been selfish, but for once in my life I deserved to be.

Uncle sat next to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, letting me drape my arms around his waist and cry into his chest. "Emiko, you aren't a war machine. You're the single most important thing to the Fire Nation. Do you know who you are?"

"_Emiko Zhao_," I recited, furiously smothering my tears in his shirt.

"Maybe so, but to the rest of the world, you are the Sun Spirit, the Sun, and Firebending itself. But to me, you are practically my daughter."

I looked up with shock and couldn't forget the look in his eyes. He hugged me again, and I cried. Not from my wounds, not from my emotional distress, but because for once in my life since mother died, someone loved me.

I don't know how long we sat there like that, but I could tell that my eyes closed and the light dimmed, signaling that it was nighttime. I vaguely remembered being moved, feeling the pain and the tugging of unconsciousness, but the latter never came.

Oh, how I wished it had.

* * *

**Uhm...I hate this chapter. But you kind of need to read it. Sorry its so horrible.**

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter. A very LONG chapter!**

"_Hey, Zoë, wake up," came the voice. It was as if though it came through a thick fog, like she was a million miles away. When she tried to open her eyes, she found them coated in a thick residue._

"_Mmm…ugh…" she replied, her own voice sounding as quiet as the other. "K…"_

"_Yes, I'm here," came the voice again. "Zoë, wake up. It's me, your older sister. Come on."_

_Kalisto nervously looked down upon her sister. She could've been seriously hurt. The college student knew that head wounds bled more than any other type of wound, but she was still worried…_

"_K…K-Kal-listo…" Zoë mumbled softly, so softly that Kali had to lean forwards in her bonds to hear, "it-t…it h-h-hurt-ts…"_

_Tears formed in kalisto's eyes when she tried to stroke her little sister's hair and she couldn't even reach because of the bonds that held her to the floor and wall. "I-it'll be okay, Zoë. I-I promise…"_


	7. Dreams

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Period!**

* * *

**Dreams**

_A good-sized cottage sat on an acre of land in the middle of Ba Sing Se. It was everything that a young girl would daydream about. You could see the beautiful grass, the bright colors, the happy family through the window. Just about everything to bring a smile to tight lips._

_The sight zoomed in, showing the newly wedded couple in a living room, kneeling down beside a tea table. The woman's face was hidden, but the man had a scar over his right eye, his shoulder-length hair a midnight black. His golden eyes looked lovingly at his wife as he leaned over the table and kissed her lips softly._

_Suddenly, a well-rounded man walked into the room with a full tray of tea, the set made of pure gold. He set it down on the table and took his place at the head of it. Leaning over, he kissed the woman on the cheek and ruffled the man's hair._

"_Good morning," the old man greeted. He gave the woman a knowing look before turning back with a smile for both of them. "How are we this morning?"_

"_We're wonderful," the husband greeted back as he took his teacup and handed his wife one. "I've been trying to get the bakery ready, but no one seems to want to work." He strummed his fingers over the table, visibly irritated._

_His wife stopped it by holding her hand over his. There was something she wanted to tell him, but that something was hard to get out apparently. "Uhm, why don't we hold off on the bakery for a while?"_

_He looked concerned. "Why? You said yourself that your own business would give you a feel of accomplishment."_

"_Um," she stalled, biting her lower lip. Still, you couldn't see who she was or why she was there, married to that man who seemed so familiar and sitting next to the other who did also._

_The graying man eyed her, keen on making her say what she was meant to. "So."_

"…_So," the girl said back, biting her lip again and hiding her face even more with her hair._

"_Is there something I'm missing?" the husband asked, holding his wife's hand and giving them both quixotic looks. _

_Suddenly, the girl got up. "Um, just one moment," she said, practically running to the door. "I-I've uh…"_

"_Are you alright?"_

_She had her hand on the knob and opened the door before turning at the sound of the old man clearing his throat. She flinched and suddenly beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her eyes clenched shut, and she turned to the man and shouted, "Zuko, I'm pregnant!" before running out of the room._

Iroh sat there, unable to do anything to help his daughter. She was sobbing, holding her face and turning her head from side to side, crying her eyes out. He wished he had some pain medication, an herb to dull the aching. Her waist, that was what was troubling her, right? But something told him that her stomach wasn't the only thing hurting her. It had something to do with adream, something that she saw prior to waking. The way that she looked when he walked in was not a look of good dreams.

The old General had a feeling that it had been a small vision of the future. Sun Spirits had many powers, some that the past ones had ever known about. But the poor girl in front of him hadn't learned a _thing_ from her mother, other than caring and compassion. But those weren't Sun Spirit lessons. She needed to know that she could boil blood when she was angry, so she knew not to do it again unless entirely necessary. Her rage was the one thing she needed to control. He hadn't known why she had gotten that expressionless look on her face, or why the man suddenly backed up and started sweating. It was only until his skin was boiling that Iroh knew what had been happening.

The man had flown over the edge of the dock, trying to get rid of the pain. But no one could get rid of the agony of blood boiling, unless the bender decided that he or she—she, in this case—decided to give mercy. Emiko hadn't wanted to.

She sobbed again from her wounds, and Uncle sat there, wishing that she could leave the pain and become unconscious. He tried to make her as comfortable as possible, stroking her short black hair. He wished that he could give her a normal life, that he could save her from future agony, but regrettably that was not in his power.

Her power was like none other, and why the Spirits would give this girl so much of it made him infuriated. The Spirits worked in mysterious ways…just as that young woman up in the North Pole died to become the moon, soon Emiko would die to become the sun.

It made Iroh stop his thoughts for a moment. Thinking of Emiko dying was… It was just too much for him to bear. Just like when he thought Zuko died before the North Pole incident, he grieved as if he was a son. Because he practically was, just like Emiko was akin to his daughter.

He took a rag to Emiko's head and kissed her cheek, letting her lie down to rest some more. In a while, he'd send Zuko to get some food whether he had to steal it or not. A healing girl needed food, even if her stomach was in pieces. Uncle realized, tears forming in his eyes, that if the wound was that severe—and it looked the part—then his daughter might not make it.

And…he didn't know if his old heart could take the death of another child.

Even if it wasn't his.

**_Emiko_**

I had the same nightmare again. I fell asleep with a lot of difficulty, and now… now that dream kept playing over and over in my head.

That girl in the dream… she couldn't have been me. The necklace around her neck wasn't my mother's. Well, then again, she _was_ married, so of course she'd have another one. But I'd never get rid of my mother's necklace just to replace it for my husband's! Adn even if it had been me, then why was I married to _him_? Well, not that it'd be a bad thing-wait, yes it would! _What am I thinking? Why in the world would he ever propose to me…?_

Another shock of pain ran through my body, and I managed to make it come out as a grunt instead of an actual scream this time. Uncle and Zuko deserved a good night's sleep at least once, even if I did hurt to the Abyss.

I felt Zuko move next to me, and the next thing I knew he was up and looking down at me. "Emiko, are you okay?"

"I…I'm fine," I lied, trying to get the dream out of my head. That's all it was, after all. It was a hallucination induced by pain.

He sighed and picked up one hand to gently caress my cheek. "Don't lie to me, Em."

Again, the shock ran through my body and I felt the beads of sweat cover my head. A muffled sound came out of my mouth, and I guessed that it was supposed to be the scream. Swallowing my pain and wrapping my arms around my stomach, I tried to look all right for Zuko. "…See?" I asked, my words sounding off from swallowing the ache. "I'm fine."

He bent down touched the side of my face with his fingertips. His lips brushed against mine, and he whispered, "You're lying…" Then he steadied himself over me and kissed me softly, his tongue tickling the edge of my lips. I moaned, making him part my lips even more, and I felt his warm breath in my completely open mouth as he pulled me down with him onto the ground.

I felt my heart beating faster in my chest, and breathing became difficult. I gasped for air, but still wanted his lips against mine. My hands were against his bare chest, my nails raking his bare skin, and I could feel that he was still calm whether I was or not. The pain in my head dulled, but my stomach was on fire.

He straddled me, and his hands moved to their spots on my face, trailing along my neck to my shoulders, down my arms and to my hips. He pulled my hips up to meet his, gently grinding our pelvises together. I moaned against his lips and his tongue slowly slid into my mouth, and I groaned even deeper as I fought for air. He explored and prodded, searched and teased until I was nothing more than a quivering pile of Fire-err, _ex_-Firebender.

His thumbs caressed the crease between thigh and pelvis, his fingers gently digging into my butt. He let his tongue trace my lips, and then he pulled away and trailed his lips down my neck, shoulder…

Then his hands trailed back up along my waist and I gasped, feeling his hands against my wounded side. Knowing he had done this once before, he pulled fearfully away and rolled back over to the ground.

Once the pain was gone, I exhaled and glared up to him. "I was _not _done kissing you."

A small, relieved smile took place of the horror, and he leaned back down to kiss me once more. It was so soft that I barely felt it. "You need to sleep," he whispered against my lips, forgetting that he was trying to stop and me not.

I leaned up just a little and felt his lips fully on mine again, even better than before. I wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him back down to me so I didn't have to lean up.

He pulled his lips away, though, and looked at me wryly. "Sleep," he commanded, pulling the blanket back up over my body. "Sleep and maybe we'll continue tomorrow if you're feeling well."

"Then I'll just feel well tomorrow," I teased, yawning slightly. "Because you owe me."

"How do I owe you?" he asked in my ear after he lay down and wrapped an arm around my waist lightly, his head next to mine, his manhood right there, and so I knew that he was wanting so, so much more.

I felt his body pushed up against my back and I fell into the warmth, wanting it too, but I was so tired... "Hmm…"

"_Hey, Zoë, wake up," came the voice. It was as if though it came through a thick fog, like she was a million miles away. When she tried to open her eyes, she found them coated in a thick residue._

"_Mmm…ugh…" she replied, her own voice sounding as quiet as the other. "K…"_

"_Yes, I'm here," came the voice again. "Zoë, wake up. It's me, your older sister. Come on."_

_Kalisto nervously looked down upon her sister. She could've been seriously hurt. The college student knew that head wounds bled more than any other type of wound, but she was still worried…_

"_K…K-Kal-listo…" Zoë mumbled softly, so softly that Kali had to lean forwards in her bonds to hear, "it-t…it h-h-hurt-ts…"_

_Tears formed in Kali's eyes when she tried to stroke her little sister's hair and she couldn't even reach because of the bonds that held her to the floor and wall. "I-it'll be okay, Zoë. I-I promise…"_

_The scratches and scrapes all over her body stung, but she pushed that out of her mind. The bruise on the side of her neck and the side of her cheek pulsed, but again she ignored it. Her sister was in worse pain._

_The Princess had been gagged, but she managed to work it out. Aeron, the damned traitorous fool that her cousin was, had never been able to tie a knot very well, she thought bitterly with a bit of a smile. _

_She turned towards the others and tried to see if they were awake. Hashikoi, the daughter of Aang, was gagged but still asleep, Gui, Sokka's son, next to her asleep as well. Seung, son of Toph, had Chamei, Pebble's daughter, on his chest, both of them sleeping._

_But as she turned to Tau, the man who kept the Airbenders alive, she saw that he was awake and staring blankly out the bars._

"…_Tau?" Kalisto asked softly, craning her neck to see what he was staring at. "Are…are you okay?"_

_He didn't answer for a minute. He waited so long, in fact, that Kali was about to turn back to Zoë before he answered. "…I should've been able to save you all," he whispered hoarsely. "If something happens…I'll never forgive myself."_

_Kalisto wanted to run over and give him a hug, but she couldn't. "It'll be okay, Tau. We'll find a way out. I know we will."_

_He didn't answer to that. _

"…_You're worried about Adena, aren't you?" she whispered. She wasn't stupid. She saw what was going on between the man and her cousin. And the second she saw that Adena wasn't with them in the prison, she knew that something was wrong. The only thought that kept her from breaking down was that Adena's father, Ryuu, would be so furious by all of their disappearances that there was no way they would be held captive for long._

_There was no answer, but by the way his jaw became set, she could tell the answer._

_But before she could say anything else, the door was burst open. A long stream of light came in and rested on Kalisto, blinding her momentarily. All she could see was a tall, dark shadow with bright yellow eyes._

_Evil, female eyes._

"_Kali!" the female voice cried, an evil, bright white smile on the woman's face. "It's so…nice…to see you again, cousin." She had short black hair held up by a yellow headband with a red Fire Nation symbol at the center. It was obviously many, many years old. It was the old symbol of the Princess of the Fire Nation. She had red sores under her eyes that made her look a little insane, and even though it had never been proven, Kalisto had to say that perhaps she was. _

_She growled under her breath. Kali was usually adverse to violence, but in this case… "Mediea," she muttered irritably, her hackles rising. If she could've gotten up and ran and fought, then she would've. The woman looked exactly like her deranged, psychotic, revengeful mother._

_A slightly psycho giggle came from her, and she still had that cat-like smile on her face. "Aw, cousin, is that the kind of reception I get after eight years?"_

"_You are no cousin of mine!" Kali yelled as her reply. No cousin kills another._

"_Well how about me?" came a male voice from behind the now-not smiling Mediea. She glanced back in disdain as the man who attacked Kali stepped forwards and into the light. "Am I still your cousin, Kali?"_

"_Don't call me that, Aeron," she growled, steam coming from her nose. He looked much like his younger sister, although he was taller, with thick brown hair instead of black. Other than that, they could have been twins. "You will call me Kalisto. You don't deserve to be so personal with me. Not with how you disgraced our family."_

_A mock pout came over his face. "Pity. I rather thought of you as my favorite cousin."_

_The college student, usually very calm and collected, created a wad of spit in her mouth and shot it at his face. Her aim showed true, right in his damned eye._

_Rage covered his face and he stepped forward to pull back his hand and slap it across her face. She neither cried out nor showed pain. She made her face go blank, her eyes emotionless._

"_Guards!" he called out the door. Two men fell in behind Mediea, and they saluted to him. He furiously wiped the spit from his eye and kicked her in the side. "Get this damned demon out of my sight. Take her to the Phoenix King."_

_A cold sweat ran down her back. Phoenix King…? Oh no… "O…Ozai is here?" she whispered, her face probably masking horror._

"_You know better than that," Mediea growled, crossing her arms irately over her flat chest. "It's not Grandfather, it's Mother. Oh sweet, sweet Mother. Don't you just love what she's going to do to our little cousin, Brother?" she asked Aeron with a sharp-toothed, evil grin._

_He smiled wryly and shrugged as if he could care less as his arms were across his chest, but Kali knew better._

_Her anger overruled her other emotions suddenly. "Oh, you're mother is here, then? I figured you were both being her guinea pigs again and running the place for her."_

_Mediea frowned. "You're a lot more outspoken then I remember, cousin."_

"_I'm not your damned cousin!" she cried again as the men unshackled her from the floor and instead shackled her feet together. They tied a rope to the chain between her hands and pulled her away violently._

"_Tau," she said quickly as she struggled against her bonds and captors. "Tau, listen to me." His eyes were blank, but he acknowledged her by turning his head. "Zoë is hurt. She's hurt bad. Watch her, don't let them touch her."_

"_Stop talking to the other captives," one of the men beside her barked out as he slapped her behind the head. She cringed but said nothing else, just gave one last fleeting look at Tau before they closed the door and led her down the hall to her imminent doom._

…

_Looking around the room, no one would have thought that this was once a place of torture and death. For now it was covered in royal banners, once beautiful but now old and tattered. Many of the Rebels were standing guard or milling around._

_But when the large doors to the room opened, everyone stopped the hubbub and turned to stare at the prisoner being brought in._

"_It's the Princess," someone muttered. "Princess Kalisto. It'll be over soon."_

"_What's she doing here?" commented another._

"_The Phoenix King finally gets revenge…" was one comment that sent a chill up the prisoner's spine._

_They tugged her along ruthlessly, the metal on her cuffs biting into her skin without mercy. She thought for a minute that she might be able to escape, but… With so many people around, there was no way she'd get out alive._

"_Quit resisting," the guard named Xing whispered for the hundredth time. "The only thing it'll do is cut off your hands."_

_Kali sent a glare at his back, though he couldn't see it, and mumbled, "If I quit resisting, I might as well give up." She was the daughter of Zuko, the Fire Lord, the Banished Prince, the great-niece of General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, the Master Firebender of the Fire Nation. But most of all, she was the daughter of Fire Lady Emiko, the all-powerful Sun Spirit, the One Who Holds the White Fire, and she was not going to give up._

_The other guard, whose name she hadn't gotten, tugged on the rope cruelly. "Keep it up, girl. We'll see if the Phoenix King will give you an extra torture sentence to go along with her plan to kill you."_

_The Princess may have wanted to do everything in her power to get herself out of the situation, but she knew when to shut her trap._

_Xing got behind her and suddenly pushed her to the ground. The other, meaner one grabbed her hair and forcefully pulled her head up. When her eyes focused and her neck stopped throbbing so much, she could make out the figure of a woman sitting in a chair, one leg crossed over the others._

_Colors swam in and she saw lots and lots of red. That's what she was wearing. Then her hair was a dark black, with some grey peeking through. But there was gold…gold… _

_Piercing golden eyes._

"_Well, well, well, if it isn't my little niece. But you're not so little now, are you?" Her voice was chiding and mocking and…_happy _all at the same time. How anyone could have those conflicting emotion was absolutely crazy._

_Finally Kali's vision cleared, and she could see the face of…of… "Azula," she growled, her voice full of venom._

I awoke and wanted to scream yet again, but I didn't. So many emotions were swirling through me, so many different thoughts, and I couldn't think or breathe. Who the hell was Kalisto, and even more, who was the girl, Zoë, who looked like me? The first girl, she'd been tall, more curvy than was natural, and had too dark of skin to be Fire Nation Royalty, or so she called herself. She'd had long, silky black hair with some new kind of Fire Nation symbol in her hair, and the darkest coal eyes I'd ever seen.

And then there'd been the other girl. Zoë or whatever. Exact face, exact eyes, exact hair, too, though hers was a little long for my taste. Her body, though crumpled in defeat, had been much, much longer than mine. And just thinking that she looked even similar to me made my heart beat faster. I paired her with the girl from the first dream, and saw that they matched perfectly.

And if it matched with the second dream at all…

I moved the blanket from over my head and squinted my eyes against the bright sun. Out through the window, I saw Uncle and Zuko sanding on the edge of the hill that overlooked a valley with a walled, abandoned city at the bottom.

"There is energy all around us," Uncle was saying, and I listened in to him to try and forget everything that was running through my head. "The energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy," he said as he held up one finger on each hand to stand for the two forms of energy. "Only a select few Firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together." He brought his hands together to illustrate the point. "You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."

Uncle held out a hand, signaling for Zuko to step back. He held his right hand to his side and with two fingers extended began to create lightning by rotating his arm in a circular motion around his body. He mimicked the motion with his left arm. It had to show on Zuko's and my face that we were impressed. Uncle brought his two hands together and then lunged forward with his right hand extended and shot lightning into the distance.

I got up and made my way towards the door, only to see the lightning arching away over the valley. I leaned against the doorframe and smirked. "I…I didn't know that you could Lighteningbend, Uncle," I said, ignoring how tired that short walk had made me. It had been a while since I'd walked, so of course it would wear me out. My feet were on fire, a lot like my stomach muscles, and I could feel the beads of sweat on my forehead. But the sun was out, and it was beautiful, and my men were right outside the door.

Zuko turned towards me with a look of shock. "E-Emiko, what are you _doing_?" he asked, running over and wrapping an arm around my waist.

I pushed him away and stumbled my way towards Uncle. "I'm ready to try it now, Uncle," I told him, bowing respectfully. He was confused, so I smiled. "Lightningbending!"

"_What_?" he asked, anger appearing on his face. "Are you crazy? Lightening is very dangerous!"

I knew that he was going to do this, so I smiled sweetly and stood up straight, ignoring the pulling of angry muscles. "You were going to let _Zuko_ try it, though."

Uncle rubbed his head, hating being in a predicament. "But you are still injured, child. If you try this, I'm afraid that it could injure you even more."

Now I was agitated. That smile _always _worked when I wanted something. Uncle was like a man who had his first granddaughter when he was around me. "But you were saying…"

"I don't care what I said," he told me, giving me a look that said it was final. "If you try this, you will get hurt. You aren't ready for anything physical, and that means—" he paused and caught me when I fell from exhaustion. "_Walking_!"

I growled profanities under my breath as he called Zuko over. He handed me to his nephew, who eagerly took me into his arms and held me against his chest.

Zuko walked into the house and over to my pallet.

"I hate this," I mumbled to myself as he set me down. "I hate being weak. I hate having to be taken care of."

Zuko smiled and sat next to me, holding my hand. "Emiko, you have no idea how lucky you are to be alive. Will you just satisfy Uncle and do what he asks for once?" I heard the double meaning, which said, 'For my sake as well.'

"I _always_ do what he asks of me," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's _you_ who doesn't listen."

He frowned. "Will you?" I noticed how he hadn't used the word _please_ at all in his speech. It must have been his impediment.

I turned my face away, but he instantly made me look back at him with a turn of his hand. "No. I'm not going to sit around here like a helpless kitten."

He leaned forwards, heard my intake of air, and smiled clandestinely. "Do I have to… _persuade_ you to listen? I will if I have to."

"N-no," I said quietly, trying to shy away.

"Well are you feeling better?" he asked slyly, taking my hip in his hand and pulling me closer. He let his lips curve around my ear, his breath caressing my cheek. "Because you remember our deal. I believe that I still have to keep up with my end of the bargain." His teeth nipped my ear, making my womb clenched in anticipation.

"N-no you don't have to," I assured him. If he kissed me, then I _knew_ that I'd have to obey him no matter what. He was my tranquilizer, and like the definition, he could sedate me.

He leaned even closer and kissed the hollow below my ear. "Yes I do…" he breathed against my skin. His lips trailed against my jaw twice before going up my cheekbone. I felt his breath floating around me, and that alone was enough to make _my_ breathing uneven.

His lips kept trailing against my skin until they reached the corner of my mouth, when suddenly he seized my kiss with authority. He overtook me with his power, straddling me again like he had the other night. But this time he actually had a shirt on, which kind of disappointed me.

I felt us leaning back down onto the ground, and instinct took over. I placed my hands around his neck and let him run his rough, warm lips along the skin of my neck. After what seemed like an eternity, he returned his mouth to mine with more gusto.

His tongue teased mine into his mouth, and as soon as it touched the inside of his hot mouth, he growled low in his throat and seized me back, taking control of the kiss. He lowered his hips down onto mine, placing himself in between my thighs.

Something clicked in the corner of my mind.

I suddenly stopped kissing back, and he pulled away and looked at me wryly. "So are you going to behave like you're supposed to?"

I shook my head and tried to get out from under him with no success. "N-no. Um, I-I think Uncle's calling y-you."

Okay, so I made it up. But during the kiss, I saw dream!me appear in my head and say, _**"Zuko, I'm pregnant." **_

That would make any girl stop from an intense kiss.

He smiled wryly again and shook his head. "Right." Then he got up, put the cover over me, kissed my lips again before hovering over me for a moment, and walked back out the door.

I rolled over and started trembling, thinking over what just happened. What about the dream? I was sure that it was what it seemed: a dream. I knew it had to be; it _had_ to. I couldn't marry him! I couldn't have a kid with him, for Spirit's sake! I mean…I could, but…what about…and then there's…

I was so confused!

So…what if I _did _marry him? Would that be such a bad thing?

_No_, I thought, smiling as I touched my lips. _I don't think it would be._

And how did I get pregnant? I mean, I _knew_ how it happened, but…how did it _happen_? I was always cautious. I knew that we were married, but would I have done it? Would I have been that careless, to have a child while I was so young?

I shook my head.

Maybe I was being too paranoid. There was no way that I would be married so early, and I didn't really know how I even _felt_ about Zuko yet. How was I supposed to marry him?

Knowing that I was paranoid and nothing else, I fell back into a restless sleep. Somewhere in my subconscious mind, I heard things. Not knowing what they were, I tried to listen in.

"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it," I heard Uncle saying. It was hard to pay attention to, as if something was in my ears to make me not be able to hear. "You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first."

I heard someone breathe, noticing how concentrated he or she was. For a long time, I heard nothing. But then an explosion occurred and the sound of something hitting the ground rang through my ears.

That was how it was for the rest of the day as I tried to sleep. For once, I didn't have the dream where I was married and pregnant. Instead, I heard explosion after explosion, the thing hitting the ground seconds after.

"I was afraid this might happen," Uncle's voice sighed. "You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."

"What turmoil?" Zuko's angry voice asked.

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

"But I don't feel any shame at all! I'm as proud as ever."

"Prince Zuko," Uncle said, pausing a moment. "Pride is not the object of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"Well…my life has been nothing but humbling lately."

My eyes slid open when I figured out it was Zuko's voice.

"I have another idea," he said as my eyes opened slowly. "I will teach you a Firebending move that even _Azula_ doesn't know, because I made it up myself!"

I slowly got up and walked outside, sitting next to the door on the dirt floor. My head felt heavy as I tried to concentrate, but I managed to stay conscious as I watched them.

Uncle grabbed a large stick off of the ground and motioned for Zuko to sit in front of him. Once his nephew did, he moved a few steps away and started drawing the Fire Nation symbol in the dirt. "Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance," he lectured while drawing the Earth Kingdom symbol. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring.

"Air is the element of freedom," he said, drawing the extinct Air Nomad symbol. "The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom." He started drawing the Water Tribe symbol. "Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

"Why are you telling me these things?" Zuko asked, confused. Actually, if he hadn't asked it I know I would have. Uncle was talking about something that the Avatar should've known about, not us.

But I decided that I would stay quiet.

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale," he told us before drawing two lines that separated each element. "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole."

"This sounds like something you should be telling Emiko, not me," Zuko said as he put his chin in his hand. "And I can only bend one element, so why do I have to know this? It sounds like Avatar junk!"

"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But, it can make you more powerful too," he said when he poked Zuko in the chest with the stick. "You see, the technique I am about to teach you is one I learned by studying the Waterbenders."

Uncle motioned for Zuko to get up, and the Prince complied. They walked away from me—still without seeing me—and started practicing what looked like Waterbending moves.

"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy," Uncle told him. I didn't know why he was teaching Zuko something Water Tribe, but apparently it was important or he wouldn't be doing it. "A Waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning."

"You can teach me to redirect lightning?" Zuko asked excitedly. I was shocked. So that was what happened back during that huge storm, and why Uncle was singed when I was saved from drowning. That was what he did when Azula tried to kill Zuko.

I understood now.

Uncle nodded. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it."

He pointed with his right arm at an angle into the air and pointed at it with his other hand.

"You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder and down into your stomach."

He moved his left hand from his arm, to his shoulder, and then to his stomach.

"The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. You direct it up again and out the other arm."

He pointed off into the distance with his left arm.

"The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart," he said as he walked up to Zuko and pointed his fingers at his chest, "or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow. Like this."

He pointed to the left with both his arms and Zuko mimicked the motion. Uncle then took his right arm and pointed it in the other direction. Zuko copied this move as well. Iroh and Zuko then moved their left arms to the right and back again.

"Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?"

"I think so…" Zuko replied quietly. He continued to mimic the motions Uncle showed him.

I smiled and watched as Zuko stayed calm and collected. It wasn't his usual self, but I liked it in a way. Sometimes it was good to let anger out, to let it explode from you. But sometimes it was nice to meditate, to let the anger dissipate.

I sat there and watched for who knew how long, but somewhere during that I fell asleep.

"Excellent! You've got it!" I heard Uncle exclaim right before unconsciousness. I smiled in my sleep and curled up into a ball in the dirt, happy that Zuko finally mastered something.

He deserved something every once in a while. Not in a bad way, but something good like the feeling of accomplishment. When he was happy, I was happy, and I knew that Uncle was happy.

And that made me even happier.

* * *

**LONG chapter, but I hope you guys like it. I know that Dream #2 is confusing, but, just for a hint, I'll tell you that they are indeed Emiko's children. It just goes to show that Emiko KNEW she should have killed Azula on the spot. Knew it.**

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter!**

"…Uncle?" Zuko asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair. Iroh nodded solemnly, watching Emiko as well. "…How was Emiko after I left?"

The old General didn't answer for a second. When he did, all that came out was a muffled sound like he couldn't speak, and apparently he couldn't at that moment.

That made the Prince angry for some reason. Was it that bad? Was she that hurt after he left? She was strong, but he never could _tell_… "Uncle?"

Iroh shook his head and sighed. The old man had a pained look on his face as he watched Emiko converse with the other old man at the table. "…"

"…It was that bad?"

Zuko flinched when Iroh tried to speak again but nothing came out

"It _was_ that bad."

Iroh nodded and rested back in his chair. "…My nephew, Emiko is a fragile spirit. She may _act _tough and _act _like nothing hurts her, but things do. She is weak right now, she is… Zuko, you don't know how much you wounded her when you left."

Now the Prince didn't want to listen. He cared about her, more than anything he ever thought he _could_ care about. Hurting her was the last thing on his mind. He never wanted to slap her; he never wanted to do anything of the sort now or ever again.


	8. An Old Teacher

**So, I'm still not happy with this chapter, but there's nothing else I can do! Besides, some of you have asked for an early Christmas present, so here you go! Chapter 8, up early, all for you amazing reviewers(:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Would I be sitting here watching it on Nick if I did? No! I'd have all three seasons! D:**

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**An Old Teacher**

Zuko helped Emiko walk through the desert sand, leaning all of her weight against him. But she was so light…was it even healthy for a woman to weigh so little? He could feel the coolness of her body against his, and her smell overpowered his senses. She never used to be that cold. He'd always pulled away at her heated touch. But now there was nothing but the cold.

She looked up to him when he stumbled, and he just kept his face forwards. He wasn't going to admit his weakness to anyone, especially her. But…that was his weakness. It _was _her.

"…I'm _exhausted_," she admitted, showing some change in her usual stupor. "When are we getting there?" He could see the weariness in her eyes, see the pain and suffering. But, being the kind of person she was, she kept it to herself most of the time.

Uncle looked up and pointed towards a small hut-like building in the distance. "There. It's a natural glacier spring and should work just fine for our rest stop."

"Thank goodness…" she mumbled, leaning even farther into Zuko. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and then kept on looking forwards.

They walked into one of the few huts in the small town and were in a bar where many people were drunk, playing cards or Pai Sho, or just sitting and talking.

"No one here is going to help us," Zuko complained, sitting Emiko down at one of the empty tables and sitting down himself. She sighed and rested her head on the table, looking as pitiful as he felt. "These people just look like filthy wanderers."

Uncle smiled a wide grin. "So do we."

Zuko looked around and saw the many people, some with their heads down on the bar or table, some looking right at Emiko with interest. Angry heat filled his cheeks when he realized that she was the only woman there.

She didn't seem to notice it. In fact, she was rubbing her face, trying to put some color into the paleness of her cheeks. "Uncle, I think we should find a place to rest for the night. I'm not going to be able to make it ten steps further, not to mention an entire night's walk." Zuko wanted to hug her, she looked so pitiful. But then her eyes lit up, and she instantly stood, no matter how tired she was. "Uncle," she whispered conspiratorially, "give me your cloak."

Iroh looked at her like she lost her mind. Zuko was too, for that matter. "_What_?"

"I think I've found our friend. Give me your cloak." Uncle complied, and she wrapped it around her shoulders. She pulled it up over her head and hid her face.

This was insane! She was just going to walk over to that bald, old man and act like they were old friends? She was going to get herself killed! Before she walked away, Zuko grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. "Are you insane?" he whispered, trying to see through the cloak that draped over her like a tent.

She smiled and looked up to him though her hood. Her eyes were the only things he could see, those bright yellow, alluring eyes. She stood on her tiptoes and waited for a moment until he got the idea that she wanted him to kiss her.

He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. He still felt her pressed against him when she left. She seemed to stumble over to the man until finally sitting down and bowing her head to him.

He couldn't hear much after that.

"…Uncle?" Zuko asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair. Iroh nodded solemnly, watching Emiko as well. "…How was Emiko after I left?"

The old General didn't answer for a second. When he did, all that came out was a muffled sound like he couldn't speak, and apparently he couldn't at that moment.

That made the Prince angry for some reason. Was it that bad? Was she that hurt after he left? She was strong, but he never could _tell_… "Uncle?"

Iroh shook his head and sighed. The old man had a pained look on his face as he watched Emiko converse with the other old man at the table. "…"

"…It was that bad?"

Zuko flinched when Iroh tried to speak again but nothing came out

"It _was_ that bad."

Iroh nodded and rested back in his chair. "…My nephew, Emiko is a fragile spirit. She may _act _tough and _act _like nothing hurts her, but things do. She is weak right now, she is… Zuko, you don't know how much you wounded her when you left."

Now the Prince didn't want to listen. He cared about her, more than anything he ever thought he _could_ care about. Hurting her was the last thing on his mind. He never wanted to slap her; he never wanted to do anything of the sort now or ever again.

_**Emiko**_

I looked over to the darkly tanned, very wrinkled man. He had a beard of long white, scraggly hair and very nice laugh lines around deep blue eyes. If I didn't know better, he was a part of the Water Tribe. I don't know, it was just the eyes.

"Ahh, hello, kind sir," I said softly, wondering if I should act as myself or not. I voted not to. The men around us were all wanderers, like us, and I thought that I recognized a few of the other bounty hunters that Jun had introduced me to while I worked with her.

The old man looked up to me and smiled, gesturing to the table. "The guest has the first move," he told me in that strange accent of his. I remembered it well, smiling at the memory.

I sat down at the table, wondering how he knew that Pai Sho was what I wanted to play. Again I grinned, taking out the piece I wanted to place down first out of my front kimono pocket. I placed the Lotus Tile in the middle of the board.

"I see you favor the White Lotus gambit," the player admired, smiling brightly as my un-wrinkled hand exited the long robe, instantly alerting him that I was a young woman. "Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

I pulled down my hood and smiled at my old teacher, bowing to him as I remembered him teaching me Pai Sho. Of course, Iroh was the first, but this man taught me everything that Uncle hadn't. "Those who do can always find a friend."

"Then let us play."

The old Pai Sho player placed his tile on the board. I quickly placed another tile as well. In a matter of seconds, we placed tile after tile on the board in rapid succession. When they were done, the tiles formed the shape of a lotus, with the Lotus Tile in the center.

"Welcome, sister," my old teacher smiled, bowing at me. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."

I felt myself smirking, a small fire starting to build inside of me. It felt good. "Haven't you ever been told that you shouldn't let just _anyone_ know her secrets?" I looked towards Uncle and motioned him towards me. He and Zuko got up, walking over to us.

The old man smiled just like I did and brought his feet up in the chair, sitting cross-legged. "You, my dear, are one of a kind."

"I'm not waiting all night for those _girls_ to finish yapping!" a man suddenly yelled, standing up. He was tremendously tall with a large, tanned build, shaking a greasy head of long, black hair. "It's over! You three fugitives are coming with me!" This is the reason I decided to call him Greasy.

Zuko and Uncle looked absolutely mortified as they stood next to me.

"I knew it!" the Pai Sho player yelled at us. "You three are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!"

"I thought you said he would help!" Zuko shouted, a betrayed look on his face as he turned his eyes towards me.

"He is," Uncle told him, a gleam of surprise and confusion in his eyes. "Just watch." Still he looked surprised at me, not knowing that I was… That I was like that.

My old teacher leaped to his feet. "You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?"

A man in the bar jumped at that word. "Gold?"

All of the men in the bar looked up at the mention of the word 'gold.' Several of them pulled out knives and approached the group around the Pai Sho table. Money was the secret word to start a riot, apparently.

The other man in the duo stepped back. "Uh… Maybe we shouldn't." He was skinnier with the air of a snob. He had a long goatee, and had beady, shifty black eyes. That was the reason I decided to call him Shifty.

Two men jumped in front of Greasy. The man spun around and delivered a reverse roundhouse kick, bending a rock from the ground, which knocked the two men away. Shifty entered his stance and bended the Earth underneath one of the assailants, causing him to sink into the ground up to his neck.

Greasy handled a group of Sandbenders. He had one lifted in the air with one hand and held back another Sandbender with the other hand. He promptly kicked any other Sandbender that came near. Then he twisted his waist and threw the two Sandbenders he was holding. One went flying and smashed into the wall behind the bartender.

Uncle and the old man ran out of the building with Zuko carrying me in tow. I wanted to complain, to tell him that I could do it myself, but I hurt, and I wasn't _about_ to tell him to drop me and let me walk on my own.

We ended up going inside a small building that was apparently a flower shop. The Pai Sho player made sure than no one was watching before shutting the door and bowing to Uncle. "It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets."

I looked at them, confused. "…How did you know that he was a Grand Master?" I asked, shooing Zuko so he would put me down. Finally, he got the idea.

It kind of irked me that he didn't recognize me, yet he automatically noticed Uncle.

Iroh smiled. "Being a Master is quite an achievement, though."

I smiled even broader, trying to keep from growling under my breath. "There is still much to learn for young _blossoms_." Here they were acting as if I didn't exist. They should've been congratulating _me_, not _themselves_!

Zuko tapped his foot impatiently. "Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is this club going to offer some real help?"

Uncle smiled to the man, both of them with those exact same eyes that always smiled. "You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."

"Um, Sensei," I mumbled to interrupt them, clenching my eyes shut when Iroh and Zuko both turned to me with the most quixotic looks they could manage. They didn't know about my past. They didn't know about the Fire Nation Academy for Girls and what I went through there.

He looked at me and smiled. "Yes, child?"

I took a deep breath and braced myself. "…Is Master Zhukov going to be in there?" Oh, how I hated that man. He was the one who held the argument that I couldn't be in the Order of the White Lotus because I was a _female_. See how well that went? Well, in the end, it turned into a two-year battle. Finally my mother's influence, even though she was dead, turned the entire meeting silent, and I'd gotten initiated.

Sensei smiled and closed his eyes, thinking of a way to tell me. "Unfortunately, yes, he is." Blunt looked like the answer.

I was about to protest, but he left me in a swift move and knocked on a door in the back. A small window in the middle slid open and a man peeked through. "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

Uncle calmly recited his entry. "One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."

The door opened and Iroh and my Sensei.

I tried to go through the door, but the man shut it in my face. At first I was a little angered, but then I remembered what I was supposed to do. I knocked on the door again, and the man opened the slot. "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

I calmly recited my entry. "The seed who has yet to grow and bloom." The door opened and I walked in.

Zuko attempted to follow us, but the door was shut in his face. Iroh slid open the door's window. "I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here." Zuko probably wasn't happy, but it _was_ members only.

I turned around from where I was looking at the door and stared at the room behind me. It was small, but at least ten people were sitting on the floor around a small fire with a teapot on it. All of them were old, and I seemed to be the only one who was young and/or female.

Uncle sat down in an open spot and patted the place next to him. I complied, and all of the men looked at me, one of them with happiness, one with anger, and the rest with confusion. The one with happiness was Sensei, who smiled at me and bowed his head. "You should be honored to be the youngest member of our association, not to mention the first woman to enter."

"The first and _last_," an angry voice growled. I knew who it was, of course. He looked exactly like Sensei, except this man had no laugh lines, only wrinkles.

I did not want to speak before spoken to to that man, so I turned to Sensei and smiled. "I am, Guru Pathik. I am just a _little_ confused to tell you the truth."

"About?" he prodded, grabbing the teapot in the center.

"About why you all are here instead of back in the Fire Nation," I told them truthfully, looking around at all of the men who used to be teachers at the Fire Nation Academy for Girls. "You all used to be my teachers."

Zhukov growled at me and spoke in that same angry tone. "You are just a Seed. Why are _you_ here at this Master's conference?"

Sensei held up a hand to signal them to wait until he passed out the tea. He had already poured the cups while I asked my question. He handed them to each of the members and then smiled once more. "She has grown from a Seed, past a Bud to a Blossom."

I choked on my tea and almost spit it out, but managed to keep it in. "W-what?"

Again, he smiled and I felt heat rush up into my cheeks. "Your calmness in all of that mess was remarkable. You were smart enough to find a friend in that crowd of ruffians, so this tells me that you are worthy of a promotion. I am guessing that the Grand Master has seen this as well?"

The rest of the men gasped as they looked over to Uncle, who smiled modestly. "Really, Gentlemen, please call me Iroh."

"_The_ Iroh?" Zhukov asked, his eyebrow raised high. In the Order of the White Lotus, you were not allowed to judge. Questions were welcome, as were compliments, but if you judged a person before you knew them, then it was like judging a book by its cover before you could read it.

"Yes, I am Iroh, Dragon of the West." He seemed kind of ashamed of it in a way. Of course I didn't blame him.

"And you think that this girl is worthy of _two_ advancements?" Zhukov prodded, that eyebrow still held high up. I had always wanted to shave it off, just so I didn't have to see it raised. He aggravated me _so _much.

"Actually, this _woman_ is worthy to be even as high as I am," Iroh said nonchalantly, acting as if it was no big deal.

I blinked once, wondering if I had heard right. Then suddenly, I felt the heat rush back into my cheeks as I sat up taller and watched as the astonished men turned their eyes towards me. I never knew that Uncle felt that way about me. Well, I did, but…Spirits, I loved that man!

Zhukov sniffed and turned his nose up in the air like he smelt something bad.

The man next to me smiled and bowed, and suddenly I recognized him as Professor Geiger, one of my weapon specialist teachers. "Congratulations, Miss…?"

I bit my lip and remembered that none of them besides Sensei and Zhukov knew who I was. Looking towards Uncle, I saw that he nodded so I looked back at Geiger. "…I'm surprised that you don't remember me, Professor Geiger," I mumbled, looking into the fire.

He laughed. "I remember all of my students, but never have I taught a woman in the Order of the White Lotus."

"…"

Uncle nudged me and nodded again, a large, encouraging smile on his face. It reassured me somewhat, but I couldn't believe that it was coming down to this.

"…I'm Emiko."

Geiger and a number of the other members choked on their tea, spewing it at the fire and partially extinguishing it. I reached my hand out and tried to bring it back to life, but still it didn't bend.

Uncle took my outstretched hand in his and laid it by my side, stroking it with his thumb. He knew how I was feeling, somehow, but I didn't think he knew the extent. Not having my fire was not only embarrassing, but it was dreadful in a way that I never wanted to experience again. I couldn't even start a simple fire anymore.

Professor Geiger looked at me closer, eyeing me over circular spectacles on his slim nose. "Spirits, it _is_ you, Emiko! Why are you here, in the Earth Kingdom?"

I took a deep breath, looking down into the tea which had gone cold, but I couldn't heat it up again like the rest of them. "Princess Azula is after the three of us."

"Three?" Zhukov asked with distaste.

"Iroh and myself, plus Prince Zuko," I told them, watching their faces as they started to understand. Now it made sense about why a burned boy was outside their meeting room.

"We need to get somewhere in the Earth Kingdom that she and her procession will never find us." Uncle took a sip of his tea and looked over the men, watching them think over what would be our fate.

A man directly across from me suddenly looked up. His halo of hair left room for baldness, and it shined in the firelight. "Emiko, do you remember who I am?" he asked, a large smile appearing on his face.

I thought for a moment, and then history suddenly came back to me. "You're Professor Ingénue!" I cried, smiling because I _did_ knowwho he was. "You taught my Fire Nation History class."

He nodded. "Now what did I tell you that the great General Iroh accomplished?"

It had to be a trick question. "…A lot of different things, actually."

"What was the big one, besides being called 'Dragon.'?"

Again, I thought. Uncle had accomplished so much, but the biggest one was— My eyes widened as I finally remembered it. "…_Ba Sing Se_."

Uncle seemed to choke on his tea. "W-what?"

"Ba Sing Se!" Sensei cried, smiling joyfully. "That is the _perfect_ place!"

Iroh didn't think so, apparently, since he was still partially choking on his tea. "But why Ba Sing Se exactly?" He had a right to be scared. He hadn't been back at the scene of his crime for almost ten years now.

"You'll blend perfectly. The city is filled with refugees. No one will expect three more."

I smiled and finally felt myself relaxing. _The running will finally stop_. "We can hide in plain sight!" The again, I'd always said that the running would stop when I started somewhere new. It didn't matter—the pirates, Jun, the Freedom Fighters—I always had to run again. "It's the safest place in the _world_ to hide from the Fire Nation." _I hope. Please, Agni, give me this one hope._

Uncle nodded, seeming to finally understand how much of a good plan it actually was. "…Even _I_ couldn't break through to the city."

"Then it's settled," Geiger assumed, standing up quickly. He bowed towards the others before quickly walking to the door and opening the slot. He started talking in low tones to whoever was out there before closing it and sitting back down beside me. "So, Emiko, how is your swordsmanship coming along?" he asked, sipping his now-cold tea.

I smiled. "It's actually improved a lot since I've been gone."

Suddenly I saw that Pathik had gone to the door and was now standing up to bow at us. He stopped me before I could tell Professor Geiger how well I had improved. "I am sorry, Lotuses, but this meeting is being adjourned early. It is to my knowledge that two brawny men are outside this very instant, looking for our three friends."

The others nodded and smiled to us, bowing where they sat. Even Zhukov gave me a hint of recognition before turning his nose up again.

Uncle and I stood up, walking towards the door. Apparently Zuko had fallen asleep waiting for us. The door opened and Uncle and I walked out, causing the Prince to wake up and go into a defensive stance. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily, though scarily awake. "Is the club meeting over?"

I nodded and smiled to him, taking his hand in mine. "Everything is taken care of. We're heading to Ba Sing Se."

"Ba-Sing_-Se?_" he demanded, pulling our hands apart. I frowned. "To the Abyss… Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?"

I took both of his hands in mine this time and stood in front of him, swinging our arms in a carefree manner. "Zuko, just think about it. We may have to start in poverty, but sooner or later we'll climb the ranks. I have many-a-skill I can use, and with Uncle's tea we will be rich in no time at all!"

The door opened and a man stepped inside the small flower shop. He bowed to Sensei and looked around nervously. "I have the passports for our guests, but there are two men out on the streets still looking for them."

_**...**_

Out of the door stepped a man pulling a small wood wagon with two large flowerpots on it and a long flowerbed on the bottom. After he left, Xin Fu (Greasy) and Master Yu (Shifty) approached the door.

Xin Fu busted the door open. This caused a flowerpot-hanging overhead to fall and shatter. Holding up the wanted poster, he shoved it in the florist's face who was tending the plants. "Hey you, where are these men and this woman? I got a tip that they're in your shop."

"As you can see, no one is here but us," the florist said calmly.

"We know all about your secret back room," Master Yu taunted as he turned to Xin Fu. He motioned to the door in the back with a slat in the top. "Kick it _down_."

The Florist ran over. "Hey! That room is for flowers only!" he cried frantically.

Xin Fu ran at the door and slammed his foot into it, knocking down the whole doorframe and the stone around it. The two bounty hunters discovered the room to be empty, save for a circle of mats and a Lotus Tile in the middle.

Master Yu picked it up. "Some unlucky soul has an incomplete Pai Sho set."

Xin Fu growled angrily and knocked the tile out of Master Yu's hand. "Let's go back to finding the girl."

_**Emiko**_

The man with the wagon pulling the two large pots and flowerbed was walking over some sand dunes just outside the village. From under the flowers in the two pots, Zuko and Iroh poked their heads out and took a brief look around before sinking back into their hiding spots.

I didn't even bother trying to lift the heavy lid on my flowerbed.

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**The next chapters are where this starts becoming my FAVORITE part EVER! Just saying(: So, here's an excerpt from the next chapter entitled, "Jet:" ;D**

I heard rather than saw two people up and talking to each other. I peered around the corner of the cabin, noticing that the two people were men. One of them had thick, shaggy brown hair that was as long as his chin, and he was long and lanky, though he looked confident with that lanky body. He looked so familiar, but in the dark, I couldn't really tell. The other one was male, too, with long black hair in a ponytail and an even taller and lankier body than the first man. I still couldn't think of where I thought I knew them from…

Suddenly I was pulled backwards, the sharp, cool metal of a knife against my neck. A small body was pushed against my back. "Who are you," the gravelly, female voice asked from behind me, "and why are you spying on us?"


	9. Jet

**ATTENTION:**

**If you haven't read Part I, listen up! When Emiko ran away from home, the first place she went was to Barker and the Pirates. Then, her father came for her, and she got away again, and she joined up with June. After her father found her one more time, she joined up with the Freedom Fighters. (When her father finds her once more, that's the beginning of Part I.)**

**Thank you, now please enjoy(:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I would know what was happening with The Legend of Kora! D:**

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**Jet**

Three ships were lying side by side, but the center vessel launched. It emerged from the inlet and out onto the great lake. I had never seen so many people in poverty, so many people hoping for a new beginning. It was kind of sad in a way, but hope was all that they had and it shined in their eyes.

It was strange to be on a ship again. The last time had been at the North Pole, when I'd thought that Zuko had been killed by my very own father. But now my father was dead. If I had been a normal girl, he would have been the one I'd always listened to, the one I respected. But I'd never respected him. I'd never even see him again.

I made myself stand up straight and wanted to slap myself. I couldn't just sit there and mope. I made myself stand up and look out onto the water, that which I was pretty scared of. But I had a feeling that I would be much easier to recover in this water than the last time I'd fallen overboard.

Frowning, I pushed myself away from the railing and walked around the deck of the small vessel, wishing that I could sleep like they were at the moment. Koh, like _everyone_ was at the moment!

Well, not everyone. I heard rather than saw two people up and talking to each other. I peered around the corner of the cabin, noticing that the two people were men. One of them had thick, shaggy brown hair that was as long as his chin, and he was long and lanky, though he looked confident with that lanky body. He looked so familiar, but in the dark, I couldn't really tell. The other one was male, too, with long black hair in a ponytail and an even taller and lankier body than the first man. I still couldn't think of where I thought I knew them from…

Suddenly I was pulled backwards, the sharp, cool metal of a knife against my neck. A small body was pushed against my back. "Who are you," the gravelly, female voice asked from behind me, "and why are you spying on us?"

I wracked my brain for who that voice belonged to, but I was coming up short. "I-I'm not spying, I couldn't sleep."

The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then she slowly let go of me. She walked around me as she sheathed her small dagger. It looked handmade. "I'm sorry. You've just got to be careful nowadays."

I smiled down at her. If I was short then she was a child. Her short brown hair was flying away from a blue bandanna, and her green eyes glared at me from underneath. Two blood-red lines were painted on either side of her cheeks. "I know. The name's Amaterasu. And you?"

"Smellerbee."

I felt the gears in my head starting to turn, and I wanted to wrap my arms around the girl. She'd grown a little, I guess, and her hair was longer. But she was still the little girl that I remembered back in the red forest. "Bee?" I asked, still not able to believe that she was in front of me.

"Yeah, that's my nickname," she said, peering up at me through her bangs. "Do I know you?"

"You're okay," I gasped, wrapping my arms around her and holding her gently to me. I knew that she was probably blushing, but I didn't care. I wanted to hold her until she suffocated! "You, and Jet, and Longshot, you're all on the boat, and you're all okay!"

"Whoa, lady," she said nervously, and I could hear her voice shaking. "I don't know who you think you are, but—"

"I'm Emiko," I said softly, digging my head into her shoulder. "Its me, Em. Oh, God, Bee, I missed you guys, I was so worried!"

She was frozen underneath me now, though she was still probably feeling awkward. Bee never liked hugging, especially my surprise ones. "Red? Its really you?"

I pulled away from her and wiped away the one tear of happiness that had fallen. "Of course its me! Can we go see Jet and Longshot now? I see them sitting over there!"

"Y-yeah, sure," she said, pulling away from my hug. Her face was completely red from what I could see. "Come on, Red."

She slowly pulled me over the sleeping bodies on the deck until I was standing directly above my old comrades. They still looked the same, though Jet was a lot older now, and so was Longshot. Longshot nodded a greeting, as if he'd already known I was there. He was still pretty handsome, and I wondered if Smellerbee had ever told the long, black-haired archer that she was in love with him. Seeing how far they were stood apart, I guessed not. His nose was even larger, it seemed, but he had grown out his ponytail and even had a slight goatee on his chin. His lips were a little thin, his eyebrows large, but hey, we all loved him and not everyone was perfect.

"Longshot," I sighed, kneeling down and wrapping my arms around him. He, like Bee, was probably blushing down to his toes. He hesitantly hugged me back.

"Hey, Em, give the boy a break," came Jet's familiar voice, and I instantly let go of Longshot to hug Jet as long as I could. He laughed and pulled me to sit down next to him, but I wouldn't let him go. I hadn't noticed that I was crying until Jet said, "Hey, doll, its alright...there's no need to cry, I'm right here."

I sniffed back the tears and punched him in the arm once. "Oh, hush up."

Jet laughed and gave my shoulders a squeeze. "What are ya doing here, Em? You're supposed to be running _away_ from bounty hunters, not surrounding yourself with them." He absentmindedly played with my short hair, looking at it with curiosity. "Though I guess you've blended in well enough, now."

I stared off into the rising sun. I knew that if I closed my eyes, I could see myself back in the red forest. We would all be sitting around the twenty-foot dining table, and there would be Sneers, and Bee, and Longshot, and Jet, and then Pebble would be safe, she wouldn't be hurt at all. I completely forgot what he was talking about, and I centered my mind onto my best friend. "Pebble. Is she okay, now?"

Jet was a little stiff under my arms, but he knew that I wanted an answer. "Emiko, Peb is fine. She's not angry at you, but it did help her to knock a few Fire Nation heads around."

"My name's Amaterasu now."

"Ah."

I felt sick to my stomach. I was sitting here, acting as if everything was okay, but it _wasn't_. Pebble was horribly burnt, all because of me. "I'm so sorry for _everything_. I hadn't meant to let him find me. I thought...I had thought that I was safe."

"It was my fault," Jet told me in a soft voice, letting me lean my head onto his shoulder. "_I_ was the one who let them through our perimeter."

Suddenly I pushed away from him. He looked hurt and confused, like every other one of my friends did whenever I betrayed them. "Don't _ever_ say that."

"Em—"

"No. It was my fault in the first place that I endangered you by staying with the group." I knew that he was going to try and argue again, so I put a finger over his lips. "Enough. I'm not going to let you take the blame for my screw up."

Again, he was about to say something, but Longshot put a hand on his leader's shoulder. The archer gave Jet a knowing look, and the latter shut his mouth before he could even begin.

I looked into the rising sun, noticing that many people were starting to stir. I heard one woman cry out, and it sounded as if she had wanted all of this to be a dream, but it wasn't. I wished that one day I would wake up and find myself waking up in my room back on the Mainland, and my mother would be in the kitchen, cooking us kimichi.

But that wouldn't happen.

I sighed and stood up from my group of friends, those of which knew nothing about me. Nothing that was true, anyways. "My father isn't after me anymore. I just thought you guys should know that."

Jet nodded seriously, grabbing my hand when I turned to leave. "Where are you going?"

"To my group. You don't think I'd travel alone, do you?"

He stood up, still holding my hand, and I knew that I couldn't walk over to Zuko looking like I'd met another man. "We'll come with you."

_ALERT, ALERT!_ _BAND OF FIRE NATION FREEDOM FIGHTERS MEETS THE DRAGON OF THE WEST AND THE CROWN PRINCE OF THE FIRE NATION!_

I heard myself laughing nervously, and I slowly took my hand out of his. "I-I don't think it would be a good idea. You see, my friend, he's a little over protective, and—"

Jet smiled that shit-eating grin, stuffing his hands down into his pockets. "I think I'd like to meet this guy. He sounds like he'd be a good guy for the new and improved Freedom Fighters."

"Jet," Bee said, suddenly standing up next to him, "I though you said that we were starting over."

"We are." Jet looked at her the way only Jet could, that look that told you that he had everything under control. "But we have more power in a group, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then its settled! Come on, _Amaterasu_, let's go meet this friend of yours."

_Oh, boy..._

_**Zuko**_

It was sickening. Being surrounded by peasants who all smelled like piss and dirt, standing on a barge that was worth no more than his right Prince shoe would have cost. And the food..._pathetic_. He almost wanted to sit down and give up, never moving from his spot again. There was no point in anything anymore.

Iroh came up behind him, placing a fatherly hand on his shoulder. "Who would have thought, after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…as a tourist !" The old man was smiling now, putting a wide straw hat on his head. He was grinning like an idiot.

Zuko wanted to slap the old man. Look around, we're not tourists, we're refugees," he said grimly, taking a sip of whatever dung was in his bowl. "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt... I'm tired of living like this."

"Aren't we all?" a voice asked, and Zuko turned to see a tall, lanky man standing next to Emiko. She looked a little abashed, and she quickly pulled her hand from the strange man's grip. Zuko already didn't like the man. "My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee, and Longshot." The two people next to him nodded, and the little girl, probably 'Smellerbee,' held onto Emiko's hand on the other side, as if she were afraid to let go.

"Lee," Emiko said, and it took a moment for him to realize that she was talking to him, "this is my old friend, Jet."

"You seem to have a lot of old friends, Amaterasu," he said, trying to feign indifference, but failing miserably. He was furious that there was another person who had shared Emiko's life, when it was him who had been by her side for almost as much time, but had helped her out much, much more.

She blushed furiously. "I-I know. But he wants to help us."

"Here's the deal," the man said, trying to take control of the entire situation. "I hear the Captain's eating like a king, while we refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What sort of _king_ is he eating like?" Uncle asked with a raised eyebrow. Zuko could hear his stomach rumbling from a mile away.

"The fat, happy kind."

Uncle's mouth gaped open, almost drooling. Zuko wanted to slap it shut, but figured that Emiko would get all riled up, and that wouldn't be a good thing.

"You want to help us "liberate" some food?" the man asked, and Zuko wondered exactly who all Emiko had hung out with. First, a band of blood-thirsty pirates. Then a bounty hunter without mercy. And now a group of "Freedom Fighters" who wanted to "liberate" some food?

Zuko stared down into the bowl of gruel, considering a moment. He wasn't going to be able to help his situation if he said no. And the worst that could happen if he said yes? Not as bad as being stuck in this Koh of a world. He hurled the wooden bowl out over the rail. "I'm in."

Emiko's face instantly turned to worry, and she came over to his side. "I-I don't know if this is a good idea, Lee. We don't want to get in trouble. We're finally going to have a new life!"

Zuko smiled at her, leaning down to gently kiss her forehead. "Stay here."

"_No_, I will _not—_!"

Zuko put his hand on her stomach, making her flinch. He knew that she was in pain; she didn't fool him. "If you put yourself in the way of something else that can hurt you, I'm going to tie you to the railing myself. Sit _down_."

When Zuko turned towards this "Jet" character, he looked a little flustered. But he quickly regained his cool and said, "Smellerbee will stay too."

The little girl turned with a fire in her eyes that matched any Firebender's. "_What_?"

"Amaterasu needs company," he said with an easy shrug. "Come on, Lee, Longshot, lets go liberate some food."

_**Smellerbee**_

Well, yeah, she was upset. Jet was going on a mission without her, and once again she was left to babysit someone. Well, babysitting Red wasn't exactly "babysitting," but the girl was so clumsy, she was always getting hurt. "Whaddya do this time, Red?"

The girl/woman was looking out into the sun, and Bee knew that she had grown up. She was slightly taller, because there was no _way_ she could get any shorter. Her hair was cut up above her chin, curling around her face in little ringlets. It looked as if she had lost a lot of weight. Well, except in the stomach. For some reason her stomach looked well-padded.

Bee suddenly felt sick to her stomach, waiting for her friend's answer. When that man, Lee, had put his hand on her stomach...?

"I was attacked by a Firebender," she said softly, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "Lightning, to be exact."

Now _this_ was a story! Bee knew that she wanted to go with the boys, but hearing this story seemed almost worth it. "What happened?"

She sighed, suddenly slumping against the railing, and Bee was almost sorry that she'd asked. The girl looked almost pitiful, as if she'd run out of all of that Emiko good-spirits stuff. One could drink that stuff and be happy for days! But now she looked really, really down in the dumps. "Its a really long story, Bee."

"I know. We've got a while."

Emiko gave the ghost of a smirk, sitting up a little straighter. "Lets just say that I followed love and got socked in the gut for it." She started undoing her kimono top, and Bee was a little weirded out.

"So you love that guy?"

"I don't know. I think I do. But I can't be sure." She then pulled open her top, showing bee the disgusting black look of the bandages around her wound. Strapped to the underneath side of the front of her kimono was a large bolt of cloth folded many times over to catch the excess blood. "And here's the damage that came from it."

Bee took a deep breath through her teeth, knowing how bad that had to have hurt. "And that's who you're running from, huh?"

"Yup."

"Huh."

"Just remember, Bee, some things are worth running after. And some wounds are worth getting."

_**Emiko**_

I had just about fallen asleep on Bee's shoulder when I heard the familiar voices of my friends. Jet was walking around the main deck, passing out food to the thankful passengers. I watched as one family in particular huddled together, the mother and father hugging thankfully, giving their praise to the Spirits, while the child and her grandfather hugged as well.

A small pang ran through my heart, and I tried not to think of that dream that plagued me every night.

Uncle, Smellerbee, Zuko, Longshot, and I sat around in a circle when they all came back to join us. I could see that Zuko's eyes never left Jet as he walked around deck, but he did it nonchalantly. I felt bad for having held Jet's hand whenever we'd walked up, but Jet was just my friend. Zuko was more than that.

Finally, Jet joined us, sitting between Uncle and me. He put his arm around my shoulders and smiled that smile that only Jet could smile. "From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall!"

"It is a magnificent sight," Uncle sighed dreamily, looking off into the distance. Zuko was glaring at Jet's hand, which was settling on my shoulders a little too friendly.

Jet didn't pay attention to the Prince, though. "So you've been there before?"

"Once, when I was a different man…" Uncle said quietly, looking away with regret. I knew his pain, knew his pain of losing his son. Even though I hadn't lost a child, I had lost a lot of other things as well. And his loss at Ba Sing Se had pretty much been the end of that part of his life.

Jet glanced around, finally settling his gaze onto me. "I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of."

I nodded. "We all have." _Especially me._

"But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning," Jet explained, his hand caressing the soft skin of the nape of my neck. I shivered at the close contact, unnerved by this display of affection. "A second chance."

Uncle nodded too, not paying attention to the tension between Zuko, Jet and I. "That's very noble of you. I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances," he said as he shared a meaningful look with Zuko, while Jet studied them both.

I leaned over and hugged Jet again before he kissed the top of my head, his lips lingering there for longer than they needed to. "It's been so long," I sighed, keeping my arms around his waist. I tried to ignore the way that Zuko shifted in his seat and Jet set his lips in a smug smile.

"I can't believe that it's been almost half a year already. After that raid—" He stopped talking when I froze from his words. "…I'm sorry, Emm. I didn't mean to bring that up."

I moved away from him uncomfortably, trying to forget all of it. The blast of fire, the frightened look on her face, the scream... "He's gone. He can't hurt us anymore."

Zuko must have understood my pain, because he laid his hand on my shoulder, and I leaned against him. "_It's alright_," he said into my hair. He held me like he had that night, when I'd seen my father go under the water, when he'd held me until I'd fallen asleep. I started to sleep again.

Before I did, though, I saw Zuko smile, and Jet grit his teeth.

_**Zuko**_

Zuko stood at the prow of the ship, looking into the misty morning. Beautiful blue and green waves rolled and crashed, creating foam that twirled and danced across the water. Hues of gold occasionally attempted to enter the beautiful liquid, but were quickly washed away. Water may have been beautiful, but it could also be very, very dangerous. He recalled one stormy night, when lightening had struck his ship, and Emiko had fallen into the water. That had been the night he'd forced himself to see that perhaps he had feelings for her.

His eyes scanned the horizon, waiting for the piece of land that was soon going to be breaking the sereneness of the ocean. He looked up to see the gold, pink, purple, and blues of the rising sun, taking in the sent of the saltwater off the foam. The clouds were light and fluffy, waiting for the breeze to send them across the sky.

Breaking the serene beauty, Jet walked up next to him. He didn't say anything as he leaned against the railing next to the Prince. "You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were."

Zuko glanced warily at the man who now stood next to him. He didn't know what to think of the man who Emiko trusted so effortlessly. She even allowed him to kiss her forehead, let him wrap his arms around her. He couldn't believe the wave of jealousy that rolled over him when she said that she had 'missed' him. The way the man looked at her was like… He couldn't even find a word for the lust in his eyes.

Emiko was no prize that needed winning. She was already his.

"You're an outcast, like me," Jet continued, to the relief of Zuko who thought that he knew that he was the Prince of the Fire Nation. "And we outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs, because no one else will."

"I've realized lately," Zuko said grimly, "that being on your own isn't always the best path." He turned to look at Emiko who was chatting with Smellerbee. His grim face turned soft as he watched her chatting animatedly with her old friend. Emiko didn't have very many opportunities to talk to any female friends, and it was a relief to see her happy and not in pain.

Jet shook his head, Zuko saw out of the corner of his eye. He knew that Jet recognized that he had lost the battle. Emiko had feelings for Zuko, not Jet, and how strong the feelings were was unknown.

"Amaterasu is a great woman," Jet prodded. The Prince could see the sadness in the man's eyes, but he could also see a greater pain than loosing a crush.

Zuko looked out onto the water again, trying not to dig into the man's wound anymore. "Yes, she is."

Jet put his hand on Zuko's shoulder and closed his eyes, trying to keep out the pain of his words. "Keep her close; never let her go. She's one that you don't want to lose."

Zuko nodded as the rocky cliffs started to unpack. Behind them was a massive, looming wall.

* * *

**Awww, poor Jet. He comes back into her life and she's got someone else. But that's okay. He turns all psycho later on anyways. Not that he deserves to die or anything.**

**ANYWAYS, here's a look at the next chapter!:**

I leaned over to the woman and saw a beautiful black-haired baby resting in her lap. "Oh…she's beautiful…" I gasped, suddenly remembering my dream. "What's her name?"

The woman smiled and beamed at her newborn. "Her name is Hope." When I tickled her baby, making faces at it as it laughed, she smiled at me. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Huh?" This strange woman was asking me if I wanted to hold her baby? When I didn't even _know_ her? I could do something, I could take it, and yet…oh, wow.

But, I couldn't pass up that offer. I took the baby in my arms and saw Zuko and Uncle out of the corner of my eye look astonished. I held out a finger, and the little girl giggled. I smiled at her unconsciously.

"You must have your own children," she admired, watching me as I cradled the wondrous creature in my arms.

I smiled to her and shook my head, staring into the baby's clear green eyes. "No, actually. I've just…always loved children."

"So is there a little one in your future?" she asked with complete innocence. She wasn't prying, she probably just thought that the padding underneath my kimono was a baby belly. Just like Bee had probably thought.

My eyes fluttered towards Zuko for one split second, and then I smiled and let the little girl wrap her hand around my index finger. "…Maybe…"


	10. Passport and Registration, Please

**Happy New Year, everyone! I'm hyped up on Coca-Cola and pizza rolls, so I'm totally not going to bed for a while. So read the next chapter of DotS!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. And I have nothing witty to say here, because my mind is so caffeine-filled.**

* * *

**Passport and Registration, Please**

The ferry landed among others in in a beautiful harbor, and I was careful to hold onto Zuko as we crossed from boat to land. (I still had nightmares about falling off of boats and drowning, as you can imagine.) The walled fortress was intimidating and looked impenetrable. Iroh had broken through, though, once-upon-a-time, and now we were just walking right inside, straight to the ticket gate. Families were huddled together as they waited for their passports to be finalized or for the train to take them in. Some people were just staying here because they _couldn't _get in.

I don't know how long we waited in line, but it was enough.

An Earth Kingdom Official, a sour, heavyset woman with a large hairy mole above her eyebrow, looked over our papers dubiously when we gave them to her.

"So, Mr. Lee, Miss Amaterasu, and Mr.… umm Mushy is it?" she asked, sounding unpleasant.

"It's pronounced Moo-shee," Uncle corrected pleasantly, a simple smile on his jolly face.

She looked up from her papers suddenly, rage in her deep green eyes. "You telling me how to do my job?"

I myself was surprised by this outburst, and Uncle stepped back to avoid her fury. "Uh, no no no!" he denied, waving his hands in front of his chest, trying to defend himself.

The woman growled and shook her head. "Nope. This isn't gonna do." She eyed me suspiciously and uttered a note of disgust. "Miss Amaterasu, are Mushi or Lee your relatives?"

"…No," I told her, not understanding where she was going with this. But a cold sweat worked its way up my neck, so I knew that something was wrong. "But Mushi raised me from a child, and I've known Lee for a long while."

"It won't do. Unless they're your family, you won't be able to live with them. And, being a single young woman, you will not be able to live alone, either."

Uncle moved closer to the woman and smiled in a way that he must have thought was charming, while I was just a little freaked out. "I don't think you understand. Amaterasu is my foster child, and that is why she is with my nephew and me. All four of their parents are dead, miss." The last part he whispered, but I could still hear it and flinch.

Zuko wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, putting my head into his chest, his chin on my head. I didn't' really want to think about my mother, or the fact that I was using her name. We were in a touch enough situation.

The lady scratched her chin, pondering what was in front of her on the paper and the people. Her hairy eyeball really was disconcerting. I shivered and hugged Zuko tighter, glad to have his warmth.

Uncle decided to take it up a level, suddenly, desperately trying to get us through. "But may I just say that you're like a flower in bloom, your beauty _intoxicating_."

She smiled, obviously charmed, and I felt myself gag. "You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself handsome!" she exclaimed, and I dug my face into Zuko's chest, trying very, very hard not to throw up and laugh at the same time. "_Meow_! Welcome to Ba Sing Se." She stamped our papers and pushed them forward.

Iroh generously grabbed them with a large smile on his un-sickened face.

Zuko snatched his from Iroh disgustedly, letting me go. "I'm gonna forget I saw that."

_You and me both, sweetheart._

_**Jet**_

Jet looked across the room at _Amaterasu_, Lee, and Mushi. That scar…he wondered how much pain the kid had been in when it had happened. He wondered why he thought he knew the older man's face. And he wondered why Emiko was traveling with them. "I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter. He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us. And Amaterasu would love to join us again."

He didn't add the fact that any option to see his old teammate would be a chance to repair their relationship. She'd grown up a lot in the past few years. Yes, she was still short. He'd always expected her to be short. Her hips and breasts had matured to a point of almost perfection, and for some reason she'd cut her hair, but it was still the black color of a dark night sky. She'd lost all of her baby fat, her cheekbones high and perfect against her pale complexion. And those eyes...

Smellerbee and Longshot stood by his side in ticket line, and they were assessing Amaterasu and her two companions as well. Well, at least one of them was. The girl was clinging to Longshot's arm, angrily glancing around at the shady people in the corners. "If Lee won't do it, then Amaterasu won't do it, Jet," Smellerbee said under her breath. "And besides, you don't know anything about him!"

Jet held a grass stalk to his mouth, chewing on it as he thought over his plans for the future. "I know he didn't get that scar from a Waterbender." First step, get the two on the team.

Smellerbee rubbed her temples, getting visibly annoyed. "Besides, I thought we were going _straight_ now." She'd never liked areas full of people she didn't know. He wondered how she would fare when she was actually _in_ the city.

Jet shrugged. "We are, and the new Freedom Fighters could use a guy like Lee. What do you think Longshot?" Second step, break the two lovebirds apart.

Longshot shot a meaningful look towards his leader. "…"

"I can respect that," Jet told him with another shrug. He'd always known what Longshot had been saying, even if he didn't say anything. It was strange, but it worked between the two of them.

Third step, win back Emiko's heart. Not Amaterasu.

Emiko.

_**Emiko**_

People were milling about in groups at a huge stone train station outside of Ba Sing Se. I saw that family of four with the parents, grandpa, and daughter. The little girl was holding a stuffed cat-rabbit, her arm wrapped around her grandfather's. I smiled at the sight, thinking of how having a child might not be so bad. Maybe having a family with Zuko would be all right. We were finally settling down. Maybe I'd see eventually that my feelings for Zuko _were_ that strong. Maybe I would be happy for once in my life…

A hand squeezing mine jolted me from my thoughts. I looked up and to my right to see Zuko looking down at me with confusion. I just smiled innocently. He still didn't seem satisfied when Jet casually sat between us, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. My hand was detangled from Zuko's. "So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?" he asked, gently squeezing my shoulder.

I shrugged and leaned on his shoulder, feeling him relax under my touch. It was nice to have him back again, to know that he didn't blame me, to know that everything was going to be alright again. My friend was back! Ignoring that we were both like sitting like this, I answered, "Get a job, live like a normal person for once in my life." I paused for a moment and let him soak that in. "Is there anything else?"

Jet shrugged too and let his hand slide down and around my upper arm. "Guess not."

Suddenly, a cart ran over some man's foot in the distance and he yelped in protest. The man pushing the concession cart apologized, and then kept up his calling. "Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!" So he was a tea peddler. My stomach churned at the thought of tea at the moment. I really did love tea, but it just did _not_ sound good.

I was about to say something else to Jet, but Uncle waved his arm in the air. "Oh! Jasmine, please!" he cried frantically, and for some reason I thought of my sister at the moment. I wondered where she was, now. Was she still with Azula? Or had she decided to run after I'd been hurt?

The man wound his way through all of the people to us, where he happily poured tea into Iroh's bowl. The man was then quickly gone, giving tea to others. Iroh delightedly took a sip, but then his eyes widened in shock and he spat it out in disgust. "Blaugh! Ugh. _Coldest_ tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it. What a disgrace!"

Zuko, who seemed to be ignoring the tea episode, sighed. He was about to say something when Jet stood up and looked away, his hands in his pockets. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

The Prince rose reluctantly and sighed again. I expected that he also meant me, so I stood as well. Zuko, always the dominant one, slid his hand into mine one more time. I raised an eyebrow up at him, but he didn't look back at me.

The three of us walked away from where Uncle sat. It was a while before we made our way though the crowd, and then we stopped in front of Smellerbee and Longshot. The looks on their faces were those of unsure creatures that were proceeding with caution.

Jet finally turned to face us, and there was no more happy Jet; he was serious now. "You two and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together. You want to join the Freedom Fighters?"

I looked up to Zuko in hopes that he would say yes, but his face told me everything. I frowned slightly. _Besides,_ I thought, gently running my thumb over the back of his hand, _we're Firebenders. It was difficult enough, hiding it from all of them in the first place with it just being me. Now _three_ of us?_

"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang," Zuko told him truthfully, and I squeezed his hand in encouragement. I didn't think that Jet wanted him in his band either. They…they wouldn't get along.

"Come on!" Jet encouraged, grabbing Zuko's shoulder when the Prince turned around. I felt Zuko tense, as his hand tightened on mine painfully, but he showed no emotion in his face. "We made a great team looting that Captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees!"

Zuko pulled his shoulder away with anger and tugged me closer to him. "I said _no_."

I pulled my hand from him and glared at him, turning to my old friends. "I'm sorry, Jet," I mumbled as I walked up to him and kissed him on the forehead. I leaned down and kissed Bee on the cheek, then leaned up to kiss Longshot on the forehead as well. "If Lee doesn't do it, then neither can I." I walked away before they could convince me otherwise.

He shrugged. "Have it your way," Jet told us, sounding mildly surprised.

_**Emiko**_

We boarded a car near the front of our train. Apparently it was taking us directly to the lower ring where we would start our new life. The seats were all made of rock, just like everything else in this Spirit forsaken place, and we picked a seat next to a young woman holding a bundle with her husband next to her.

Zuko sat down with his arms crossed, still obviously angry. I didn't blame him at all, though, because I had been so open towards Jet. It wouldn't surprise me if he even yelled at me some when we got to our house.

I probably deserved it, too. Zuko and I were, for lack of better words, together. I should have respected that more.

Iroh sat between Zuko and me and looked over at his nephew. I knew that they were about to have one of those "talks," so I tuned them out. Ignoring Zuko for the time being, I leaned over to the woman and saw a beautiful black-haired baby resting in her lap. "Oh…she's beautiful…" I gasped, suddenly remembering my dream. "What's her name?"

The woman smiled and beamed at her newborn. "Her name is Hope." When I tickled her baby, making faces at it as it laughed, she smiled at me. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Huh?" This strange woman was asking me if I wanted to hold her baby? When I didn't even _know_ her? I could do something, I could take it, and yet…oh, wow.

But, I couldn't pass up that offer. I took the baby in my arms and saw Zuko and Uncle out of the corner of my eye look astonished. I held out a finger, and the little girl giggled. I smiled at her unconsciously.

"You must have your own children," she admired, watching me as I cradled the wondrous creature in my arms.

I smiled to her and shook my head, staring into the baby's clear green eyes. "No, actually. I've just…always loved children."

"So is there a little one in your future?" she asked with complete innocence. She wasn't prying, she probably just thought that the padding underneath my kimono was a baby belly. Just like Bee had probably thought.

My eyes fluttered towards Zuko for one split second, and then I smiled and let the little girl wrap her hand around my index finger. "…Maybe…"

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**Awww. How cute(: **

**Here's an excerpt from the next chapter!:**

Zuko walked down a street, fuming angrily inside. He didn't want to be here—he wasn't _supposed_ to be here! He was the Prince of the Fire Nation, someone who was waited on hand and foot and clothed in royal silk robes. Members of the royal family didn't deserve to be dressed in peasant garments and walking filthy dirt streets.

As he looked around, small, grimy children were running rampant through the street unsupervised while their parents were haggling or stealing from the local merchants. If he ever had any children, they would be respectable young brood.

That made him trip over his own feet.

**Children.** He had never even thought of it before. He and Emiko were getting kind of close, but _kids_…


	11. Ba Sing Se

**Just a warning to all of you out there, there is a reason why this is rated 'M'. Just saying.**

**Anyways, I love getting reviews! So, I'm gonna thank my reviewers! Here's a big shout out to MadToTheBone1, Noella, SweetInsomnia, Elvira Iula, Music and Things, kawaii kokeshi, KhAeL, pourquoibella, stabbythings, LuciansLycanNightShade, Music . Love . Reading, and Midnight Wolf 94. I just feel that you should all get some cyber cookies!(: Thanks again, so much!**

**REMEMBER. This story IS rated 'M.'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I am but a poor high school student who has yet to take her ACT/SAT, and her high hopes are a 27.  
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**Ba Sing Se**

Zuko walked down a street, fuming angrily inside. He didn't want to be here—he wasn't _supposed_ to be here! He was the Prince of the Fire Nation, someone who was waited on hand and foot and clothed in royal silk robes. Members of the royal family didn't deserve to be dressed in peasant garments and walking filthy dirt streets.

As he looked around, small, grimy children were running rampant through the street unsupervised while their parents were haggling or stealing from the local merchants. If he ever had any children, they would be respectable young brood.

That made him trip over his own feet.

Children. He had never even thought of it before. He and Emiko were getting kind of close, but _kids_…

Iroh caught up suddenly, grabbing the Prince's shoulder from behind. Zuko practically jumped off the road and into a defensive stance. Once he saw it was his Uncle, he rolled his eyes and kept walking. The old man was holding a large vase with several crimson flowers placed in it and he looked _ridiculous._

Zuko stared coldly at the flower pot, wondering how his Uncle—General Iroh, rightful heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, Dragon of the West, Destroyer of Great Cities—could be so joyous about living like meager peasants.

Iroh knew that his nephew was in a bad mood, so he tried to cheer him up. "I just want our new place to look nice in case someone brings home a lady friend," he hinted as he gave Zuko a small nudge with his elbow.

Zuko grumbled under his breath about what he felt, and it was a good thing that Uncle didn't hear any of them because it was laden with words that would make his grandmother roll in her grave. And then, as if to heighten Zuko's edginess even more, Emiko ran up in between the uncle and nephew and wrapped her arms around them both. She leaned up on her toes and kissed both of them on the cheek, smiling at nothing for no apparent reason. "I hope I'm the only _lady friend_ that Zuko has over at the house."

"This city is a _prison_," Zuko growled as Emiko sighed and let her arm around Uncle drop so she could lean all of her weight on the Prince. It was a giant slum surrounded by walls, walls made of a stone so powerful that even Iroh hadn't been able to break through. "I don't want to make a life here."

Emiko kissed his cheek again, making the blood in his veins turn hot and speed up his heart. That always seemed to happen whenever she was around him, and it was disconcerting. "Life happens wherever you are," she whispered in his ear in a way that he thought was seductive, whether or not she meant it that way, "whether you make it or _not_."

Zuko was about to protest to that, but when he turned to growl, her face was right there. She was breathtakingly beautiful, her bright yellow eyes sparkling in a way that made him want to stop right there in the middle of the street and kiss her without heed. But he became worried when a sheen of sweat on her forehead appeared. He noticed that her breathing was heavy, and when she slumped over he caught her around the waist. "Em?"

No one in the street bothered to wonder what was wrong. They just made a pathway around the three people who had suddenly stopped. She leaned heavily against the two men, her panting so deep that she was wheezing. She looked drenched in sweat.

"…I-I'm fine," she assured them, trying to stand up straight. She shoved Zuko's arms off of her and walked forwards for about three steps. Then, she collapsed on the ground.

"Amaterasu!" Iroh and Zuko cried at the same time. They ran over to her inert body and instantly saw that she was lying unconscious on the ground.

"Uncle, what's wrong with her?" Zuko cried, patting the side of her face gently to rouse her.

"Pick her up so we can take her to the house, my nephew. And be very, very gentle."

_**Their House**_

Zuko laid Emiko down on the cot in the front room while Iroh went into the kitchen to get some medical tools he had bought earlier. It wasn't much, the house. Just a three-room hole in the wall, one restroom for all three of them, a living room/bedroom/kitchen mix, and a small room that was nothing but a broom closet, but Iroh was giving it to Emiko and Zuko to use. They figured that posing as a couple was the best, else wise they would have been separated.

The Prince caressed her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin and how cold it seemed under his fingers. He didn't mind posing as a couple. Koh, as far as he knew, they already were a couple. They'd never really established it. He ran his fingers over her lips, feeling their soft curves from a different perspective for once. Had it only been a while ago that they had shared their first kiss? And when she thought she was his _wife_… Those kisses had been so irresistible that he thought he was going to take her right then and there. Finally, though, the few words she said snapped his brain into action. Or maybe it would have been the other way around. Anyways, they had snapped out of it.

What would've happened if he had actually…?

Zuko cut his thoughts short when Iroh came back rushing in with the medical kit. He rushed to Emiko's side and knelt down, tearing open the front of her kimono. Underneath it, she was wrapped from the waist up almost to her neck.

His eyes widened when they trained their sights on her waist, which was not even bandage white. Now it was a sickly black and red color, so much to where he wondered why it hadn't bled through her kimono. The Prince looked over at the simple dress and saw that the place on the clothing where her stomach was situated was filled with extra padding that soaked up the blood. She had been bleeding, but used the fabric to cover it up.

How had he been so _stupid_? She had been in pain since they arrived! The damn woman was so proud that she couldn't even tell someone when she was hurting.

Iroh tore open the bandages on the waist and revealed a massive scar on her abdomen, looking even worse than it had when she got it in the first place. He took a rag and mopped up the blood that was flowing from her wound and then used yet another. She was bleeding so much…

Zuko quickly took his shirt off and tore the bottom off it, a big enough portion to where it was bigger than most of the rags Iroh was using. The Prince then put it on top of her wound and applied pressure to it with both hands, watching Emiko moan in her unconsciousness. He clenched his eyes shut to ignore it, because he knew that if he thought he was hurting her then he wouldn't be able to save her.

Iroh then took a bottle of some kind and popped open the cork with his thumb. He poured some down Emiko's throat, watching her gag in protest, but he made her force it down by massaging her throat.

Then the old man gently nudged Zuko away and poured the liquid onto the wound. The ear splitting screech that Emiko emanated was enough to make Zuko wish that he was dead; it broke his heart that Emiko took damage for something he did.

Iroh had tears running down his face as Zuko smelled the vile liquid, and he instantly knew that it was alcohol. It was supposedly supposed to clean the wound, but he had never had to use it. Emiko had used it on him, though, that was for sure.

Zuko started tearing his shirt hem up at the bottom and wrapping it around the still form of Emiko, her face now flushed from the pain. Her waist felt even smaller than usual, as if she hadn't been eating. And then another thought hit him.

She _hadn't_ been eating. On the ship, at the restaurant… She was starving because she wasn't able to eat.

The Prince's shirt was now nothing, because it was wrapped around Emiko's waist. She was just laying there, her short black hair splayed out behind her, her beautiful face clenched in pain. Zuko caressed the side of her cheek.

Iroh scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head back and forth. "…Zuko, we should let her rest."

"I know that, Uncle," he replied, his voice monotone. He still couldn't help feeling the soft skin of her cheek. For some reason, he felt pain, because she was in pain. He'd never known what this feeling was, why he wanted to protect her, or why she make his heart jump every time he saw her.

The old man sighed, and Zuko saw a similar pain in his eyes. "I am guessing that we can't start our jobs until she is better."

Zuko's eyes shot up from Emiko's closed ones and looked at his Uncle with confusion and surprise. "Jobs? Since when?"

"We start this afternoon, but I'm going to have to postpone it until Emiko is better. We can not leave her here alone."

"You can go, Uncle," Zuko said quietly, smoothing back the hair from her forehead. "I'll stay here and watch over Emm."

Iroh hesitated. "…But…"

Zuko shook his head. _I have to do this for her._ "No. I'm grown up now, and I'm pretty sure I can handle taking care of her. We need more medical supplies, and we can't get them _and_ be respectable without money. To get money, we need a job. So if we want to keep it, one of us will have to go. And…and I want to stay here with Emm."

Again, the old man hesitated, and Zuko didn't blame him. Iroh had already put so much trust in him, and he went and blew it. But now Zuko had something to fight for, and he wasn't going to let either of them down.

"Zuko…" Iroh sighed, placing a hand on his nephew's arm, "Emiko is in a fragile state. If her health declines anymore than it already has…I'm afraid she isn't going to live."

The Prince cringed away at his words and squeezed Emiko's hand, watching her face curl in pain and a moan escape from her lips. He wanted to take her pain, inflict it on himself. How had he been so _stupid_? His heart was torn out of the hollow place in his chest.

Iroh sighed and shook his head, taking Emiko's other hand in his. "…I…I guess you are right, my nephew. I will leave in just a few minutes and tell our supervisor that my niece is sick and needs someone to tend to her, and that someone is you."

Zuko nodded and looked back down on Emiko as Iroh walked out of the room. She was sleeping peacefully now, and he wished that he could see what she saw. What was she dreaming of?

"…Zuko…" she mumbled softly, a small smile appearing on her full lips.

Well, that answered _that_ question.

"…Zuko…" she mumbled again, a frown marring her face, "I'm sorry…"

Zuko scrunched his face up in confusion. What could she be sorry for, and why to him? _He_ owed _her_ a lot, so it would be him who should be sorry.

Yeah, he owed her a lot.

_**Emiko**_

I awoke suddenly, sensing some kind of pressure against the front of me. It was warm, long, and hard, and I buried my face into the chest. My eyes flew open, and I was gazing straight into a well-defined chest. Looking up, there was a handsome face that made me smile. He was fast asleep. His arms were a protective cage around my torso, but he was barely touching me. My arms were wound around his neck.

I touched my lips to the hollow beneath his throat and drug my nose along his collarbone. He stirred, and I felt his fingers drift up my bandaged backbone. He said nothing as he kissed the top of my head gently, taking in the scent of my hair.

"…Is everything okay?" My voice was raspy, and my throat hurt really bad. I couldn't really remember what had happened, but it felt good to be in his warm arms, against his warm exterior. Again, he didn't say anything.

I lifted my chin up and saw that he was staring at the ceiling, his eyes blank and his face emotionless. "…Zuko?"

"Are you awake this time?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse and his jaw tensing up. He still didn't look at me, and I felt a little hurt. I didn't even know what I had done!

"_This _time?" I asked, leaning up on my elbows to look him in the eyes. Doing that made the muscles in my stomach tense up, and I instantly fell back down onto his stomach. He held me against him as I tried to get my breath back, and it seemed like he wanted to hold me tighter but was afraid of the pain it would cause me. Finally I could breathe again, but I could still feel the sting of the pain on my abdomen.

Zuko rolled over and laid me down on the pallet, leaning up on one arm to look down on me. He caressed the side of my face with his fingertips, and I took it without question. "You've woken up several times, but now…now I think you're finally yourself." He put his hand on my forehead and sighed with relief. "You're not freezing anymore."

"Zuko, what are you _talking_ about? My side was just acting up, that's all."

I watched as his eyes slanted from relief to anger all in one second. "I can't believe that you're still lying to me," he growled.

"Lying? Zuko, what are you talking abou—" And then it hit me. "Oh." He watched as it finally dawned on me. "…I was going to tell you…sooner or later…"

"And you chose later and let it get so infected that you almost _died_," he growled, grabbing my face fiercely and turning it back towards him. "I didn't save you just so you could kill yourself again!"

I pulled away and rolled across the ground until I was off of the small pallet we were on and to my feet. I tried to back away, but then my legs started shaking and my stomach protested to my every move. A small gasp of objection escaped my lips as my legs buckled from under me. Zuko shot up and caught me just as I fell, and then I was up in the air and in his warm arms. I shivered slightly, and goose bumps rose on my arms. My skin was so cold compared to his that now we were complete opposites.

He laid me back down on the pallet and pulled some covers over me, but as soon as his skin left mine I felt like I was back at the North Pole without any clothes on. I grabbed his hand and gave him a pleading look as he turned to get up off his knees. "…Please stay," I begged, feeling his hand tighten in tension around mine.

He sighed and lay back down next to me, and I scooted closer to put my head on his chest. He wound his left arm around my shoulders, while I drug my hand down his scorching hot, chiseled chest. Zuko shivered from my touch, and I instantly pulled away. But he grabbed my hand and put it on his cheek, and he sighed. I looked up to see him looking down on me.

A feeling inside of me started to burn, the one other than my stomach. I carefully pulled his face down, letting his parted lips touch mine. He was so gentle, when he tried to be, and it near broke my heart. He gently caressed me, with his lips and his hands, but he wouldn't take it very far, as if he were afraid of hurting me. I could feel his tongue as it softly lined my lips, wanting to go inside, but knowing better.

I wanted to pull him closer, to memorize his entire body, to make him mine forever. But I was injured, and he would never allow it. Somehow, though, I might've been able to provoke him, but…

No. It was perfect the way it was, slow and loving.

We stayed like that for I don't know how long, but I was compelled to be like that forever.

_**Zuko**_

Zuko felt her kissing become lighter and lighter until finally she sighed and rested her head back down on his shoulder, where she stayed, content and asleep, until Iroh got home that night.

"Is she alright?" he asked quietly, bending down to look at the two on the ground.

The Prince smiled. "She'll be okay. Give her another day and she'll be on her feet."

"I'd rather her not," Iroh disagreed. He walked over to where the kitchen was and lit some wood with spark rocks under a teakettle. "She is still very weak."

Again, Zuko smiled. He had the knowledge that she was just as okay as the day that she threatened to kill him and his crew. "Believe me, Uncle. Emiko will be as cheery as a newborn saber-toothed-moose-lion-cub." He took Emiko's arm off of his chest and scooted out from under her, letting her roll into her own little ball to sleep.

Iroh nodded and smiled at his nephew's optimism. "In the next few days she'll be starting a job at the local daycare center, so she'll need to be okay. I saw that the woman there needed help, so I told her that I had a niece who would love to be hired. She agreed and told me that she wouldn't need Emiko until the day after tomorrow."

Zuko didn't know what to think of Emiko getting a job. Wasn't a woman supposed to stay home with the house? Didn't they clean and take care of kids? Well, Emiko _was_ going to be working in a daycare. So…

Well, he didn't like it at all. Emiko didn't have to _work_. And he voiced his opinion to his uncle.

Iroh chuckled. "I don't think that Emiko is going to agree with you. She is strong minded, now more than _ever_, and she isn't going to take well to your telling her what she can and can't do."

The Prince crossed his arms over his chest and felt like sticking his tongue out and stomping his foot, but he knew that it was childish. "She's not…_well_ enough to. If a child was to head butt her in the stomach, we wouldn't be there to help her!"

"Now you're just making up excuses," Iroh chuckled. He picked up the teakettle and poured himself a cup of herbal tea. "I want you to stay here with Emiko for tonight, and if she is feeling better tomorrow, then you can go to work too. She'll need to stay off her feet, so maybe she can rest around the house."

That made Zuko scowl. He knew that Emiko wasn't going to be lazy and sit around all day. She would probably get the bright idea that she would follow them to work or something!

_**A few days later...**_

_**Jet**_

Jet stepped out of an alley across from where they lived. "Look at them… _Firebenders_ living right under everyone's nose."

Smellerbee and Longshot walked up behind him, concerned and kind of irritated looks on their faces, but their leader didn't notice.

"Jet, you saw a man with a hot cup of tea!" Smellerbee cried, shaking her head. "It doesn't prove he's a Firebender. And what if he is, are we supposed to attack them? I thought we were starting over here, changing our ways!" She was pleading with him now, because she could see the maniacal look in his eyes that meant he couldn't stop now.

"We are! When I get the evidence I need, I'll report them to the police and let them handle it. Ok? Besides, we've got to help Emi—" He sighed irritably and corrected himself with, "_Amaterasu_."

Smellerbee shook her head again and sighed. "Jet…what if she's one, too?"

Jet turned to her and gritted his teeth. There was no way. He loved Emiko, and she was a regular Earth Kingdom citizen who lost her parents to the war, just like him.

"I mean, if she's traveling with them, wouldn't that make _sense_?" she pleaded.

Jet's eyebrows furrowed. "She traveled with us for almost _two years_."

Smellerbee put her hand on his shoulder. "That doesn't mean anything, Jet."

His shoulders slumped. "…I know."

_**Emiko**_

"Well, you certainly _look_ like official tea servers…" the teashop owner told Zuko and Uncle. "How do you feel?"

Zuko put his hand over his face. "Ridiculous…"

I giggled as I pulled the strings of the apron he was wearing around to tie it in a bow. I made it extra pretty by making the loops stand up. I walked up in the front of him and kissed his lips playfully. "I think it's handsome."

The small teashop wasn't anything but a little whole in the wall, but it was cozy and good people came here for tea. I'd wanted to come and see it so I'd know where it was in the future, but Zuko almost hadn't let me go with them. A few bats of my eyelashes and some kisses had quickly changed his mind.

I didn't know why, but he'd been distant lately, but more protective. I was happy that his temper had abated, but it worried me. Was he sick? Did he want to tell me something, but didn't know how to say it? I'd known that we might not be together forever. Maybe...maybe he wanted to tell me that he didn't want to be together anymore, that he thought of me as something else besides his girlfriend. That's what we were posing as at the moment, a couple, and it felt nice, but did he want it?

Iroh was desperately attempting to tie the string behind his back, but his effort was in vain. To forget my horrid thoughts, I went to help my loving Uncle. "Uh, does this possibly come in a larger size?" he asked the man.

The teashop owner walked to a door near the back. "I have extra string in the back. Have some tea while you wait." He poured two cups of tea and handed them to his new employees before heading to the back of the shop. Of course I didn't get one.

Iroh took a sip from his cup, but quickly pulled it away, his face contorted in disgust. I stepped back, in case he decided to spit it out. "_Eeow_! This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!"

"Uncle, that's what all tea is," Zuko growled, irritated. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at the door in the back of the room. I knew that he was upset with me, but I wished that he would quit scowling. He would end up with wrinkles some day.

"How can a member of my own family say something so _horrible_?" Uncle asked melodramatically, but I was sure that the tea was probably pretty bad anyways. "We'll have to make some major changes around here." He grabbed the teapot and headed over to the window to dump the tea out it.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall and sighed. "I guess I'd better get home so that I can sleep before work tomorrow." Why, oh why had Uncle gotten me a job that wasn't with him? Why didn't he just get me a job next door at the bakery? _Well, one thing's for sure, I'm not going to be bored for the next couple of months. _Apparently I was working for someone named "Missy" at her daycare center. She took care of children whose parents had very long day jobs.

Suddenly Zuko put his hand in mine and started to pull me outside of the building. Since Iroh was still occupied with his tea, he didn't notice my plea for help. _Zuko, please get that look out of your eyes._ He stopped outside, onto the deserted street, and tenderly caressed my waist, pleading at me with his beautiful eyes. "I don't like the idea of you going off by yourself." His eyes were filled with possession and worry.

_I thought it was going to be something much, much worse than that_, I thought, letting out the breath I'd been holding. "I'll be fine. Besides, I've got to earn my own fair share."

He frowned disapprovingly. "I'd rather you stay home."

I thought that maybe I'd like this Zuko, the one who tried to protect me and keep me by his side. Maybe that was the Zuko that I wanted to get married to. "I'm not going to be like the women who can't do anything. I'm going to work, alright?" I leaned up and gently kissed his forehead, then turned to leave.

But before I got too far, though, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. Well, against him actually. When I tried to struggle, he only pushed me against the wall of the alley.

"You know…" he whispered with a dark look on his handsome face. My breath stopped as I looked into his darkened irises. "I am _very_ good at persuasion."

"Oh r-really…?" I asked, struggling underneath him uncomfortably. _Zuko...what are you doing...?_

He looked even darker as he put his hands beside my head and looked me straight in the eyes. His body was all too tempting as he pushed himself up against me, and he made sure to shift his hips against mine. "You're going to work...?"

I wasn't going to give up that easily, even if he was this close to me. But it sure did make it hard to concentrate. "Yup." My lips made a popping sound on the 'p.'

Zuko took my face in his hands and brushed his lips against mine, back and forth. His lips were soft, his hands rough and calloused. Was it just me, or did I feel bristles gently brushing against my skin? "Now…?" he asked against them, his groin pushing into me as I gasped at what was there.

The feeling inside was still there. That warm, mushy feeling in my heart, and sometimes my stomach, that wanted more than a kiss. The butterflies were so riled that I didn't know if I could see straight if I opened my eyes. But right then I didn't want anything but to prove him wrong and go to work.

My index finger pushed between us and went over his lips. And yes, I could see straight. "Yup."

He pushed his body up against mine even more, to where I could feel every inch of his hard muscles against me, and kissed my neck persuasively. His lips were hot and seductive as they nipped and bit at my sensitive skin. "How…'bout _now_?" he asked against my neck. His breath made me shiver.

My breathing was rapid. Spirits, he was so unfair! But I managed to nod my head, and my chin brushed against the half inch of stubble hair on his head.

Now he turned serious, and he pulled up to look me in the eyes. "Why must you make me worry, Emm?"

"I don't try to," I told him, my breathing still shaky. "But I'm not going to sit around like some girl who cries when she breaks a nail."

"Then what can I do to persuade you?" he asked, his mouth by my ear. I shivered. That was apparently what he wanted, because I felt his body chuckle. He brushed his lips up and down my jaw softly as his hand ran down my waist, hip, and thigh.

He pulled my leg up by the knee and hitched it up his side.

My breathing stopped. _What is he __**doing**__? _

Zuko forcefully pushed his lips to mine. Its not that I didn't enjoy it—believe me, I did—it was just that I knew exactly why he was doing it.

His lips forced mine apart even further, and his tongue slid in and attacked mine in a way that made my mind fog up. His mouth slanted over mine again and again in savage possession, molding our lips together, our bodies. I kept trying to tell myself that he wasn't having any effect on me, that he wasn't doing anything to me. His tongue seemed to take over my mouth as he pushed me further into the wall. Though since that was impossible, he was pushing himself further into me. His lips were possessive and furious, but there was an edge that I couldn't understand.

It was so hard to resist him… I leaned into it, nipping his lower lip with my teeth. This made him growl, and he positioned himself between my thighs. I gasped and bit his lip on accident, and suddenly he grabbed my other leg and pulled it around his hips as well. I clamped them together behind his back, tangling my fingers in what little hair he had.

His tongue slid up and down my sensuously, his hips grinding into mine as he shifted them against me, into the wall. I leaned into it, nipping his lower lip with my teeth before allowing my tongue to enter his mouth instead. He moaned slightly, making me wonder if I had the same effect on him as he did on me.

His hands squeezed my ass, molding, gently rocking me back and forth against his hips in a way that made me so full of need. He pulled himself away from our kiss, cocking his head to the side and attaching his lips to my neck, gently biting the soft skin there. At the same time I pushed my body flush with his, feeling my breasts ache, my womb contract in a way that was pleasurable but painful at the same time.

I would've fainted, (and was just on the verge of doing so,) but he pulled his head back. "_And now_?" He kept placing butterfly kisses along my neck and jaw. A smile played on the edges of his lips; he knew he was winning this argument. It made me mad to think that my kiss hadn't affected him at all, but then I felt his chest heaving.

I was almost hyperventilating. It's kind of hard to form a logical sentence while you can't breathe. But… "Y-yup," I finally managed, squeezing my legs and making him groan.

His lips stopped their roaming on my neck. He hit his hand to the side of the wall, showing me anger that I'd rather not have been on me. "I forbid you to go," he commanded through clenched teeth. But still, I couldn't help but notice as his pelvis pushed further into mine. I bit my bottom lip and gently rode on his moving hips, watching as his eyes closed and he whispered my name.

Finally I tried to remember where we were, and what I was trying to explain to him. He couldn't just force me not to help our family. _Our family…_

My arms wrapped around his neck and I put my forehead to his. "I-I have my own will, and _you_ can't stop me." My breath was still shaky, but I was pleased that my voice didn't crack.

Zuko shoved my arms and legs down and turned away from me. He was very angry that his seduction ploy didn't work. It made me laugh that Zuko had tried to use _seduction_ on _me_, when it should've been the other way around.

"You know," I started playfully, hopefully not sounding at all mocking, "I'm _great_ at persuasion."

He didn't answer me.

I walked around him and put my hands on his chest. Doing that, I pushed him against the wall and kissed under his jaw. "Really, _really_ good at persuasion." _I was right, he does have some stubble. _And it was kind of a turn on.

He put his hands on my hips, but didn't say anything. He kissed my lips again, not really noticing that it was me trying to get what I wanted. His lips parted mine softly, his tongue tickling the edge of my lips. His hands gently rocked my hips against his once more, and I moaned into his mouth, rocking against him myself, and he groaned.

Before he could get to me any further, I pulled away. I put my hands on his neck softly and looked up to him with the most innocent eyes I could bear. "Please…_please_ let me work…"

He kissed both of my eyelids while he pondered it. He looked almost pained as he stood there, and I could only imagine why, as men had that…_ahem_…_problem_ when they started kissing or anything rather sexual. My hips against his probably weren't helping. And believe me, I could feel his little "problem."

"Please…" I begged again. My hands slid to his shoulders, chest. I leaned up to trail kisses from his chest to his neck.

He shivered and looked at me with pain in his eyes. "I don't want to see you get _hurt_," he admitted softly, grasping my hips a little tighter. "I feel like…like it's my duty to protect you."

"Well," I said, straightening his collar, "your _duty _can take care of herself. Don't worry, okay? I just want to earn a little more income for our family." The word _family_ seemed so right, yet it felt weird on my tongue.

He was reluctant. "Well…" He sighed and pulled my chin up to make my eyes meet his. "Only if you promise me to stay safe."

"Okay," I exhaled, smiling in relief.

His stare bored into my eyes. "_Promise_ me."

Me, stay out of trouble? Sure, when cow-pigs flew. But I knew that I had to promise him if I ever wanted to help our family. So, with a smile, I said, "I promise, Zuko. Really, I do."

* * *

**I am SO SORRY that turned out to be so hot and heavy. Not that its the BEST makeout scene in the world. Anyways, on to the next chapter?**

"...Sorry."

"Its fine. Promise," I said softly, and I kissed him again, this time perhaps losing myself in the feel of his stubble on my skin. I wanted to do so much more with him, but it was just difficult to get over what I knew was right and what was wrong. So when I grabbed his neck and was just about to pull him back down onto the bed, it was a good thing that Uncle knocked and then quickly opened the door. I fell backwards, falling off the other side of the bed, (which wasn't much, as Zuko's back had been to the door when he'd stood up, and there was perhaps a foot of space between the bed and the back wall,) and Zuko fell face-first onto the bed.

"Good morning, children," he said, a mischievous glint in his topaz eyes. "How are we this morning?"


	12. Longing

**I do apologize for how short the last chapter was. But it was one of those chapters that I couldn't get rid of, and I can't post more than one chapter a week, I'd run out of material! And that would be veryyyyyy bad. So don't be angry with me?**

**And thanks to kawaii kokeshi for telling me that it was "mochi" not "moichi." **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I'm just a poor high-school student with a 4.7 GPA. You'd think that with that high of a GPA, I could get a job and NOT be broke. Alas, it is not to be.**

* * *

**Longing**

I absolutely loved waking up in Zuko's arms every morning. His wonderful heat against my back, his soft breath against the back of my neck, and one strong arm wrapped protectively around my waist. When we were like this, I couldn't think of him becoming more distant. He was mine, and I was his. That was all there was. We were Firebenders lost in a big city, but we had each other, and that was all that mattered.

I felt him stirring behind me, and then his lips were on my shoulder. I curled my toes into the hair on his legs, slowly stretching as the light filtered in through the slats on our small door. "Good morning," I whispered, turning my neck to look into his eyes.

He only grunted, giving me a soft peck on the lips. Then he pulled me tighter against him and laid his head back down onto our pallet, trying to get comfortable once more.

"You can't go back to sleep," I said with a yawn, gently stroking the arm that held me. "We've got work today." His hips gently rocked against my backside, and I gave a gasp as feelings ran through me. "Z-Zuko—"

"_I still don't want you going to work_..." he whispered against my skin, his lips showing attention to the nape of my neck. I knew that he wasn't completely awake yet. In fact, he had been like this for the past few days, when we'd started sharing the same bed. He woke up, and he'd wanted more than I was willing to give.

I tried to get out of his arms, away from his half-awake stupor, but he swiftly took me over, straddling me and holding my hands by my side. "Zuko, let me go. We've discussed this already."

The cloud that was over his eyes in the morning started to disappear, but he leaned down and kissed me still. And when he pulled away from the sweet moment, he actually rolled off of me, leaning over me instead. "...Sorry."

"Its fine. Promise," I said softly, and I kissed him again, this time perhaps losing myself in the feel of his stubble on my skin. I wanted to do so much more with him, but it was just difficult to get over what I knew was right and what was wrong. So when I grabbed his neck and was just about to pull him back down onto the bed, it was a good thing that Uncle knocked and then quickly opened the door. I fell backwards, falling off the other side of the bed, (which wasn't much, as Zuko's back had been to the door when he'd stood up, and there was perhaps a foot of space between the bed and the back wall,) and Zuko fell face-first onto the bed.

"Good morning, children," he said, a mischievous glint in his topaz eyes. "How are we this morning?"

The rest of the morning was kind of a blur; I fixed the men of my house breakfast, and we somehow got over the embarrassment of the morning wake up fiasco. But Uncle told a lame joke, and then the awkwardness was gone, only to be replaced by the affection that I felt for these two men. When they started needlessly bickering, I just sat there, holding my tea, and looking at them with such strong feelings that even I was scared.

I noticed that it was almost time to go, so I leaned over to Uncle and kissed him on the forehead. "I promised Zuko already, but I'll tell you too. I promise to stay safe." I saw him smile, and then Zuko walked me to the doorway, but he pulled me back to kiss him yet again. "Zuko!" I giggled, putting my hands against his chest as I tried to push away. It was in vain, though, as he pulled me back towards him and kissed me again. I didn't resist this time, and he smiled against my lips as I did to his. "I've got…to…get to… work!"

He smiled again and kissed my neck persuasively. "You don't _have_ to go to work…" he whispered against my skin seductively.

I slapped his shoulder playfully and let him kiss me again until I heard the large clock in the middle of the town chime six times. "Mmm!" I mumbled against his lips. "I've got to go, and so do _you_!"

Zuko finally let me go, but his arm was still wound around my waist. "Be careful, okay?"

Again, I smiled, but it was slightly annoyed. I'd already told him that I would be fine. We'd had this conversation three _times_ now! "Don't worry about me, Lee." I almost gagged by having to call him that. "I can take care of myself. I promised, remember?"

So I walked to Missy's Daycare Center, still feeling the touch of Zuko's lips on mine. I sighed and daydreamed about the future, about how well things were going even though we were peasants. It wasn't that bad, actually. Really, _truly_, I was enjoying it, and even Zuko seemed to be getting used to everything. Then again, there was that nagging feeling about his pulling away, but I quickly shook my head and stepped up to the address that Iroh had told me about.

The building was a one-story house that seemed very clean, if not a little worn. The front door had a small gate that kept little children from getting out, but the door was open to let in the nice fall air. I walked into the building and was impressed by what I saw. There was a small desk in front of me, and behind it was the owner's quarters which included a couch and a small cot. That area was cut off from the play area by a half wall, which I was just tall enough to see over.

"Hello?" I asked, opening the gate that led to the play area. I stepped on a few toys and cursed myself silently for not wearing more appropriate shoes, just in case little ears were around. No one answered.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked again, looking around for any sign of life. If this was a daycare center, shouldn't there be someone there to care for children during the day? And where were the _children_?

A small baby crawled out of the back room. "Gawah?" he asked, his little black hair of head bobbing up and down.

"Aww!" Oh, I was a sucker for a cute baby. Being the youngest in my family, I'd never been able to hold a baby. My mother and father had both been only-children, so no cousins. And forget the idea of my brother or sister having children! I sat down beside the infant and smiled at his dimpled hands, feet, and cheeks. "Who are you, little guy?"

He answered by crawling in my lap and tugging on my hair. I looked at him closer and saw that he was a pretty chubby baby. But he _was_ cute, sitting there with those big…_yellow_…eyes.

I smiled, knowing something that probably no one else did, and cuddled him. "You're a hair puller and fist-in-the-mouth kind of guy, arentcha?" He responded again by slobbering all over his fist and splashing it at me. "Yes, you are," I said, my voice monotone as I wiped the drool off my face.

Suddenly, a head full of brown hair popped out of the back room. "Hey, Salem, come ba—" She paused as she looked at me, and then she disappeared and came back out, holding a towel in her hand. She was very pregnant—maybe six or seven months along—but beautiful in her own way. Even though she was in almost rags, she still shone with her own radiance.

"Hello," I said, guessing that she was Missy. I didn't stop playing with the baby, though, to stop and talk to her. She gave me a strange look, like I had gone crazy, but I shook my head and kept playing with the baby.

"Who are _you_?" she asked defensively, and I could see a blunt object that she must have kept near her to deal with people she thought were like me.

"Amaterasu, ma'am," I said quickly, standing up and putting the baby on my hip. I wasn't _about_ to have to fight a pregnant lady. "I'm your new employee."

She exhaled through thin pink lips and ran a hand through her plain, mousey hair. "It's about time you got here. I'm covered in baby!"

I laughed, wondering how I could be so scared of such a nice lady. But then again, that look in her eye when I'd handled "Salem" without introducing myself had been pretty scary. "Why don't you sit down and let me handle the children?" It couldn't have been easy to walk around with _that_ big of a stomach.

She nodded and wiped her head with the towel in her hands. "Thanks, doll. You're a lifesaver."

"So this is Salem?" I asked, tickling his stomach, getting the cutest laugh. I imagined that his mother and father weren't really who they were, but that he was the child of Zuko and I. Why not? Our mothers and fathers all had those same eyes, and most of our families had the thick black hair. And he was just so cute, and I looked at Missy's belly and felt a longing for something that I probably wouldn't have for a very long time, if at all.

"That…" she told me breathily, lowering her thick legs onto the couch in her area behind the desk, "…is Salem Messiah. His parents are my best customers…he looks like he likes you, which is unbelievable. The only people who can pick him up are his parents!"

I looked down at the baby lovingly. "So, Salem…what's the deal with you and hair pulling?" For some reason, Messiah sounded familiar. But, for the sake of me, I couldn't remember where I heard it.

He looked up to me and smiled a toothless smile. "Gawa!"

_**Ten Hours Later...**_

"I'm bushed!" I cried as I opened the door to my little family's house. Zuko was sitting on the small couch we'd managed to get, and he looked very relieved when I'd walked in. Iroh was in the small kitchen, and whatever he was making smelled delicious. "Who knew that taking care of kids was such hard work?" The place had gotten busier as the day went on, and I could've sworn that babies were crawling out of thin air with all the business we got!

Uncle smiled up at me, but he kept most of his attention on his work. "Would either of you like a pot of tea?" he asked, standing in front of it, still in his work apron. If it were up to him, I doubted that he would ever take it off!

Zuko sat up from his seat, scooting over to allow me room and patting the spot next to him for me to sit down. "We've been working in a tea shop all day," he said as he wrapped an arm around my waist, giving my cheek a kiss without seeming to think about it. "I'm sick of tea."

"Its like you're sick of breathing, then," I said, leaning my head onto his shoulder. I wondered how Missy acted around her husband, since she was pregnant. I wondered how much her feet hurt after being on her feet all day. Did she know her baby's gender? Had she already started preparing? I instantly knew that I would have to make her something for being so amazing to me, giving me a job and all.

Instantly I had to stop my thinking, shaking my head and brushing my hair out of my face. _Agni, I'm hormonal today._

Zuko leaned his head onto mine, but I knew that his nose must have scrunched in disgust. It was just baby powder, and I actually kind of liked the smell, but maybe he didn't. I felt myself frowning as I thought, _Does that mean he doesn't want kids? _"What have you been _doing_?" he asked, pulling my face around and sniffing my hair once more.

I laughed again, most likely from exhaustion more than humor, and said, "That, my man, is the stink of a hard day's work…and ten babies. You'll get used to it." Then I felt myself yawning, and I knew that I had work the next day. So I stood up and leaned down to kiss Zuko's forehead, because I knew he couldn't sleep this early, and I skipped over to Uncle, giving him a kiss _and_ a hug, because I was feeling slightly sentimental.

I closed the small, slitted door, hearing a vague, "_Have you seen our spark rocks?_" from Uncle as I undressed down to my wrappings, and I dove under the covers, loving the feel of the cotton against my bare skin. Thoughts drifted through my mind, and I started drifting off, wondering what Zuko had looked like as a baby, and what our child might look like.

Babies filled my dreams that night.

_**Smellerbee**_

Jet stood outside the teashop. An officer walked in through the door along with a guard before Smellerbee and Longshot walked up behind their leader. Bee knew that she couldn't just let him go on with obsessing with this. Emiko wasn't with them anymore, and all he'd seen had been an old man with a hot cup of tea.

"Jet, we need to talk," Smellerbee told him, crossing her arms across her chest. The determination in his eyes, when he turned to them made her heart fall.

"Oh great, it's you guys. Where have you been? I could use some help with surveillance here… Emiko doesn't have work today and she's staying with Lee in the shop today. I can't watch all three of them by myself."

Smellerbee shook her head. She had to get it out now or she never would. She loved Jet, she really did, but this had to stop _now. _"We've been talking, and we think you're becoming obsessed with this. It's not healthy."

"Oh, really?" Jet asked, turning towards them with a disbelieving look. "You _both_ think this?"

Longshot silently placed his hand on Smellerbee's shoulder, indicating his agreement. Smellerbee's face flushed momentarily, but she kept in mind the most important matter at hand. Yeah, she liked Longshot. Everyone with a brain knew that, all but Longshot, and he'd probably never realize it. But she shook her head and concentrated on her boss. She stomped her foot. "We came here to make a fresh start, but you won't let this go. Even though there's no real proof!" She gestured at the teashop across the street, and she knew exactly what was going through his mind.

"Well, maybe if you'd help me—"

"Jet, you've gotta stop this."

"Maybe you've forgotten why we need to start over. Maybe you've forgotten about how the Fire Nation left us all homeless? How they wiped out all the people we loved? If you don't want to help me, I'll get the evidence on my _own_."

Longshot and Smellerbee looked down guiltily. The last thing they wanted was to split up, but they really did want a new life. Something different, a place where they could be themselves and not be hunted down.

So she felt guilty as Jet stalked off towards the teashop.

_**Emiko**_

Uncle poured a cup of tea for the officer that had walked in earlier, dressed beautifully. Instinct had told me to run, but he seemed the happy-go-lucky type, like Uncle, so I didn't. I just sat down my tray of freshly-made _moichi_ onto the counter, glad to see that Uncle was becoming so popular among the customers.

"This is the best tea shop in the city!" the officer exclaimed, and I couldn't disagree with him. Iroh had gone around, sampling the competition's tea, (and so did I, occasionally,) and nothing beat Iroh's tea. Except maybe my _mochi_ rice cakes, of course.

I smiled and Uncle held the teapot to his heart. "The secret ingredient is love," he said as he waved his hand through the steam coming from the teapot and walked towards the back of the shop. I loved him so much, but that small proclemation made me want to laugh, so I did. I caught Zuko's eye, and he smiled softly at me, before returning to his work.

"I think you're due for a raise!" Pao said to Iroh, before looking over to me. He picked up one of my rice cakes and popped it into his mouth, smiling around the food. "Delicious! What am I paying you?"

"Half," I said simply, shrugging. It wasn't that big of a deal. It was just a recipe that my mother had given me. She said it was passed down from generation to generation, but _mochi_ had always been made in the Fire Nation, but I'd never been sure. All I knew was that it wasn't five minutes before the men in the shop had bought up all of my food. _At least it doesn't cost much to make..._

I was sitting down my most recent tray of rice cakes when the door slammed and someone stormed in. It was Jet! I hadn't seen him since we'd come into the city two weeks ago, so I was happy that he was here. "Jet!" I exclaimed as I rushed over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug.

He ferociously grabbed my wrists and flung them around behind my back. Shock and pain flashed through me. I felt my wound tearing and reopening, and I gasped in pain. Then next thing I knew, his knee was in my back and I was being pushed down into the nearest table, breaking it in half as I landed on top of it. For a moment, all I could see black. But I could hear him. I _definitely _could hear him. "I'm tired of waiting. These guys are _Firebenders_!"

_Oh, no!_

Zuko rushed over to me. I was clutching my unhealed side in agony while Zuko and Iroh quickly exchanged looks, unsure of what to do. _Oh no…_ "Zuko," I whispered as a ruckus started up, my breath full of pain. I almost wanted to faint right then and there, with all of the blood oozing out onto my hands, but I had to say something. "Zuko, don't—"

He put a finger over my lips and shook his head. "Don't say anything until Iroh helps you. I'll deal with this."

"But—"

"_No_." With his final word, he walked back over to Uncle and told him that he needed to heal me.

Behind him, I watched as Jet got that crazy look in his eyes that I knew so well. He unsheathed his hook swords and prepared to fight. "I know they're Firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!" He gave me that angry and hurt glare, and I couldn't do anything but look away.

The officer laughed , but it was tense, and his hand was on a sword by his hip. "He works in a _tea_ shop!"

"They're Firebenders, I'm telling you!" my old leader growled.

Two officers sitting at one of the tables stood up and prepared to take care of the crazy boy who threw me into the corner. "Drop your swords boy, nice and easy."

Jet didn't back down. He glared towards Zuko, all of his muscles ready to fight "You'll have to defend yourself. Then everyone will know. Go ahead; show them what you can do." He poised his hook swords and slowly walked towards Iroh and Zuko. One of the officers prepared to draw the swords at his waist when Zuko stepped in front of him and grabbed the hilt instead.

"Zuko, _no_," I growled, standing up and walking over to where the men were. Iroh steadied me when I tripped over a chair lying on the ground. "He just wants a show. _Please_ don't fight him."

"That's exactly the opposite of what _you _would want, _Amaterasu_," Jet sneered. A pang of hurt slashed through my heart. _My...my friend?_

"You want a show?" Zuko asked, unsheathing the officer's double broadswords and entering his fighting stance. His voice was full of malice and jealousy. I knew that Jet and I had once had something, but there was nothing now. Nothing, and Zuko was _jealous_ right now? He wasn't angry? He was _jealous_, of all things? "I'll give you a _show_." He then pulled a table in front of him with his foot and kicked it at Jet.

Jet sliced his hook swords into the table and jumped over it. As he landed, my old leader swung both hook swords down at the Prince, who deflected the attack and jumped backward onto another table. Jet swung one sword through the middle of the table, slicing it in half. Zuko stepped to one half of the table and balanced on one foot. Jet followed up his attack by cutting through the legs on the half of the table Zuko was standing on, and the latter of the two quickly hopped onto the other half that was still standing and landed in a crane stance.

Jet knocked this half to the ground, but Zuko jumped into the air and swung both broadswords at Jet's feet as he landed. Jet somersaulted away and landed in a crouching position before charging forward at Zuko, who swung both of his swords at Jet. He blocked it and kicked Zuko towards the door.

Zuko burst through the door and tumbled into the street. Jet ran after him and did a few spins before striking at Zuko with both swords. Zuko managed to block the strike and both combatants locked swords.

"You must be getting tired of using those swords," Jet accused with a crazy grin, at least from where I could see. "Why don't you go ahead and _Firebend_ at me?"

They both struggled to gain control and walked off to the side, out of my view. "Please Jet, you're confused!" I yelled, struggling away from Uncle's warm touch on my injured stomach. "You don't know what you're doing!"

I heard some more struggling, and then some heavy breathing from Jet. "Bet you wish he'd help you out with a little fire blast right now."

"You're the one who needs _help_," I heard Zuko say calmly, and I felt pride build up in me, that Zuko, _my Zuko_, was out there, defending us, defending his _family_.

Tears started running from my eyes, and Uncle calmly wiped them away. He looked up at me with grief, and I broke into more tears. "…You still love that boy, don't you?" he asked quietly, gingerly getting the needles ready to stitch my stomach back up.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest. "No!" I cried, hating that my voice was wavering. "He's like my _brother_! Uncle, I love him like my _brother_ and he's going to get hurt!"

Iroh patted my back, though I knew that he was just as worried as I was about getting discovered. "It's either him or Zuko."

If it was between that, then I knew I had to pick. But it was so hard! Why did it have to come down to this?

Iroh must have sensed my indecision, because he tried to become more optimistic, as always. "But…if Zuko knew how you felt about him, and he wouldn't do anything to hurt you, then I doubt that he would kill him. But if Jet cared about you in any way or form, then he wouldn't be doing all of this."

I looked down at the ground, and before I knew it, the stabbing sting of a needle was penetrating my skin, Uncle sewing up my wound. I tried not to think about the blood, or the needle as its sanitary-ness scorched through my cold skin.

Towards the end, I heard more of a struggle, and then I saw people milling about in the streets. A slice of a sword cut through the air, and then Jet shouted, "You see that? The Fire Nation is trying to silence me! It'll never happen!"

Now I heard the crash of wood splintering, and then more metal on metal as the men fought even more. A hush ran over the crowd, and a deep voice rang through the teashop. "Drop your weapons!"

There was no more struggle. "Arrest them. They're Firebenders!" Jet cried anxiously, but no one seemed to believe him.

"This poor boy is confused…" Uncle said, making me notice that the surgery was done and over with and he wasn't with me anymore. He was standing in the doorway, blocking my vision of the fight. "We're just simple refugees."

I could barely see out the front door as the teashop owner pointed at Jet. "This young man wrecked my teashop, hurt the young lady inside, and assaulted my employees!"

"It's true sir," the officer said for somewhere to the side, talking to someone, but I wasn't sure who. "We saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the city!"

Knowing Iroh, he was blushing. "Oh ho, ho. That's very sweet."

Some men in dark green robes walked up behind Jet, who looked at them angrily. I could only see snippets, as Iroh was blocking my view, and I wasn't about to get up. "Come with us son," the second of the two said.

Jet swung his hook sword at the guard, but he caught the sword with his hand covered in stones. The guard then disarmed Jet and both guards pulled the boy's arms behind his back, binding his wrists together using the stones on the palms of their gloves. They dragged Jet away towards a wagon designed for holding captured criminals.

"You don't understand!" Jet cried, kicking his legs. "They're Fire Nation! You have to believe me!"

The crowd began to disperse. On his knees, Jet looked up as the doors slammed shut. His eyes met mine the last second of his freedom, and I felt my heart breaking. The people left in the street watched the wagon roll away.

Zuko rushed back into the teashop to find me sitting on the ground, my legs spread apart and my hands lying limply in between them as I cried. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close, trying to warm me up by running his hands quickly over my arms.

It didn't work though, and I cried back into his chest. He didn't say anything else about how I felt about Jet, or if he even knew that I loved the guy like a brother. But I loved Zuko more, and that was what counted.

Even if he didn't know.

* * *

**Uhm...awh.): Emiko's lost a friend, which she seems to have fewer and fewer of these days. And Emiko needs to quit spending so much time around kids. She seems to be getting ideas...(;**

**So anyways, here's a look at the next chapter!**

Zuko gently took her hand, full and happy. She'd made him his favorite desert, somehow, even though he'd never told her that melonpan _was_ his favorite. And so he knew that he had to show her this now. She smiled up to him, a light in her bright yellow eyes. He loved the way she smiled, and loved it even more when she laughed. She couldn't meet anyone's eyes when she laughed. He loved her voice, too, and the way that she was around children and people she really respected.

He wondered if she knew all of that. He'd never really told her. Koh, he didn't think that he _could _tell her. He wasn't sure that his life was balanced enough yet, or if he really knew what these feelings were. When he'd first met her, he'd hated her. And then, slowly, the feelings had grown. But where along the lines had they, or would they, be at the point where he could finally tell her how he really felt?

Maybe it could be now.


	13. This Day

**I will apologize for the short chapter ahead of time. But some of you wanted some more Jasmine, and I know all of you like the little romantic moments between Emiko and Zuko, don't lie! So here you go, Chapter 13!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I am but a poor teenager.**

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**This Day**

_Could this day get any worse?_

The plan to enter Ba Sing Se had failed, obviously, because why were they sitting on an Earth Kingdom Train, wearing Kyoshi Warrior uniforms? Mai was the least happy about their change of wardrobe, while Ty Lee was smiling and asking Mai how she liked to wear anything besides black. Jasmine, of course, could have cared less. And then _Azula..._well, she was just Azula.

Jasmine groaned and put her head into her hands, wondering when the pink jabber-box would ever shut her gob. It was enough that they had to wear the disgraceful Earth Kingdom uniforms, she didn't have to hear the girl's constant voice in her head the entire ride over to the Earth Kingdom!

A flame started building in her hand, so that she could stuff it in the girl's sorry mouth, but Azula caught her hand and her eye, shaking her head. Jasmine quickly snuffed the flame, mumbling an apology. It wasn't as if she lost her anger all the time. No, she really didn't. She had to work with a bunch of pre-teens every day back at that stupid Academy, so what made her on edge like this?

The answer was simple. Whenever she was around Azula, her temper topped off. And it wasn't as if she could just ask her Princess to leave her alone, to not ask her such things as hunting her little sister. But it had to be done. They were all fugitives, and who knew where they were at the moment? And then there were people like her older brother, Ryuu, who was just..._gone, _who disappeared from the planted completely. Not that Jasmine would call Ryuu her brother anymore, anyways. He'd deserted the military. He was no longer her brother.

Jasmine sighed and put her face into her hands. Azula saw her frustration and gently petted her on the back, making her want to cringe, but she didn't. To the Princess, all of them were her pets. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if she'd said no, that she couldn't have gone after her sister. When Azula had put the fire underneath Ty Lee, or when she'd let all of the animals out... She even felt a little bad for the pink chatter box.

But not as bad as she'd felt for Mai, when her brother had been taken. Mai may have not have had a heart, but Jasmine had seen the pain in her eyes when her brother had disappeared. The idiot Bumi and the Avatar, (of whom Jasmine had thought was dead, or a one hundred-year-old mindless elder,) had made up some delirious plan, but in the end, the Avatar had gotten away, and then the child had come back. But not before Mai had joined them.

"When we get inside the city," Azula said softly into her ear, to where the others couldn't hear, "I want you by my side. I have always trusted you so much, Jasmine. I need you with me."

Jasmine knew that Azula said this to all three of them at least once a day, but hearing it still made her insides churn. She didn't want to hear these things. She didn't want to be some pampered child's play toy. But she had to be. She was in over her head. And if she stopped...then she drowned. "Yes, Princess."

And now here they were, on an empty train into Ba Sing Se as "honored guests." The Kyoshi Warriors hadn't been that difficult to take out. But the Avatar would be. And if they found her sister again, Jasmine wasn't sure if she could fight her again, after what Azula had done. To tell the truth, Jasmine was...well, she was sorry. Her little sister could be dead. And all Azula was concerned about was getting her brother and Uncle and now the Avatar. Well, it would be different next time.

Jasmine would make sure of it. "Of course, Princess."

_**Emiko**_

_Could this day get any better?_

I'd had the day off from Missy's, so Iroh had given me our grocery money and asked me to go and get the ingredients for a nice meal, my choice. He'd just given a bone to a dog, and I was so happy to be in a normal routine. I woke up with Zuko's arms around me every morning, I cooked my two men breakfast, and then I went to work or I cooked rice cakes for Iroh's tea shop.

Well, not that it was his. But his tea was bringing people from all over the city just to taste it. And the little bit of extra money it brought in wasn't bad, either. It wouldn't be very long before someone noticed him and asked him to do something bigger and better.

Done with my shopping, I traipsed on home, ready to cook for my men. It felt nice to be doing something that made a place feel like home. Koh, I'd even taken up knitting! I felt like a real woman in a matronly way. People mistook Zuko and I for a married couple, and I kept decorating the house. It was so strange. I'd been running all my life, but now I had a normal one. And it was..._amazing_.

I opened the door to our little apartment, and I didn't even care that it was small. It was clean, it had enough room for us, and it was _ours_. Well, once we paid it off, it was ours. But we were so close. It would be ours in less than six months. And, with Zuko and Iroh both at work almost every day, including today, it might even be ours quicker than that.

I started rolling out the curry bread, to eat with our food, and then started on the melonpan, as it had to bake for a while. I knew that Zuko secretly enjoyed the small cookie-like dough, and it made me happy to make it for him. And Uncle loved the curry in the bread. He said that it reminded him of his childhood, and that was the reason that I was making it.

At first, I hadn't been sure what to make for the main meal. But then I remembered one of the first meals that we'd had together, when I'd first fallen into Zuko's care. So, I'd decided to make _Sōmen _noodles, or _nyumen_, because I was going to serve it hot. I rolled out the dough for the noodles, making sure that each and every one was perfect and thin. When I was done making enough, I stretched most of them, making them even thinner. I decided to flavor the dipping sauce with ginger, Iroh's favorite.

I was so busy cooking, setting everything up in its correct bowls, and putting the final touches on dinner, that I didn't even notice someone coming up behind me. Thick, familiar arms wound around my waist, and I almost jumped out of my skin in fright. "Zuko," I groaned, elbowing him softly to make him move back, "don't _do_ that."

I knew that he was smiling, because he gave me a squeeze and a small kiss on the neck. "Hmm."

I turned back to my food, determined to finish it, but he decided to keep distracting me by placing kisses on my neck and running his hands up the sides of my apron. "Zuko, I'm cooking."

"And I'm distracting you," he said against my neck, slowly moving his lips to the spot that made my knees shake. A part of me wanted to scold him, but he'd been so down in the dumps lately that it was nice to see him acting like this, playful, _wanting_ something. Well, at least I _hoped_ that he was being playful.

"Yes, but if you want dinner, then you should let me go," I said, although whatever he was doing to my neck, it felt _amazing_. I slowly sat down my bowl of _tsuyu_, leaning back against him, tilting my head to give him more room to work his magic. I knew that I couldn't let him win this battle, though, even if he obviously was. It was just too easy to let him turn me around, away from dinner, to let him wrap his arms around my waist, and to kiss him gently on the lips. But it was very, very difficult to ask the one question that was in my head. "Wh...where is...Uncle?"

"At a tea party," he said with a small, mocking laugh. But he still didn't stop kissing as much of my neck and shoulders as he possibly could. "We have the night all to ourselves..."

I felt heat fill my entire body. It might have been because he pushed me up against the counter next to the oven, but mostly it was because he was insinuating something that he _knew_ couldn't happen, even if Uncle _wasn't_ there. But it sure was difficult thinking that way, especially with his hands running up and down my body. Did I just let him pick me up and set me on the counter? I couldn't tell, he was just too intoxicating, him, his kisses, everything.

There was a low growl that came from the back of his throat, and suddenly he parted my lips further and tilted his head to the side. His hot tongue ran over my lower lip with a passion. I gently touched my hands to his face, to his high cheekbones, his long, straight nose. I let my shaky hands leave his beautiful face and drift down his neck, to his shoulders, to his thick, muscular chest. I was careful to be...well, _careful_. I knew what he wanted, and I knew that I wanted it too. But we couldn't.

…

Could we?

I bit his lower lip, gently pulling on it and kissing him slowly, trying to calm him down. But that didn't work. He pulled my hips onto his and held them there, grinding them into each other. He wasn't being careful and wasn't trying to. He held me so tight to his hard body that it almost hurt.

But really my mind was on this man instead of our bodies, this man who slowly slid his tongue between my lips to touch mine. I knew that he wanted to go on, go further than just this kiss. His control was breaking as I held his neck between my hands and encouraged him to keep going. But strangely...he _didn't_.

He slowly pulled away, smiling at my half-lidded look. "I've got a surprise for you."

I really didn't know what to say to this. First of all, he knew that I hated surprises. They tended to make me worry and I started panicking. So when he said that, I instantly started to worry. "But Zuko, what—?"

He kissed me again to silence me, a childish glint in his beautiful eyes. "Don't ask. We're going to eat dinner, and then I'm taking you out."

"Taking me out...like on a date?" I asked softly, placing my hands on his forearms. His hands were still on my waist, and he massaged it gently. He nodded, giving my waist a squeeze. I didn't think that I'd ever seen such a happy glint in his eyes, or that I ever would again. So when he hugged me and started to help me set up for dinner, I was very curious to see what he had in mind for this evening.

Very, _very_ curious.

_**Zuko**_

_Could this day be any more perfect?_

He didn't think that he'd ever get over what he'd found that day. He wanted to show Emiko that he was okay with their life, even if he really wasn't. He was Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, though he knew that he would never really get his throne. So when he'd found the small plaza that was hidden completely from view, that was full of small, romantic lanterns, where he _knew_ that he could show Emiko Firebending once more, he'd been completely ecstatic.

He'd known all along that Emiko had lost her Firebending. And that it was all his fault. He'd never told her that he'd known, because he knew that she would become distant. She didn't want anyone to know that she was defenseless, that she couldn't protect herself. Did she know that _he_ wanted to protect_ her_, though? Did she know that he would do almost anything for her?

Zuko gently took her hand, full and happy. She'd made him his favorite desert, somehow, even though he'd never told her that melonpan _was_ his favorite. And so he knew that he had to show her this now. She smiled up to him, a light in her bright yellow eyes. He loved the way she smiled, and loved it even more when she laughed. She couldn't meet anyone's eyes when she laughed. He loved her voice, too, and the way that she was around children and people she really respected.

He wondered if she knew all of that. He'd never really told her. Koh, he didn't think that he _could _tell her. He wasn't sure that his life was balanced enough yet, or if he really knew what these feelings were. When he'd first met her, he'd hated her. And then, slowly, the feelings had grown. But where along the lines had they, or would they, be at the point where he could finally tell her how he really felt?

Maybe it could be now. He pulled her into the small plaza, the lanterns on the cobblestones dancing with light. It was empty at the moment, besides them, the lanterns, and the few benches sitting around a small garden in the center. They stood there for a moment, watching as the midnight flowers bloomed under the full moon in the sky, lighting up the area in a small glow.

"Oh, Zuko," she gasped, her eyes alight with wonder, "its beautiful."

_So are you,_ he thought, but he didn't say it out loud. He didn't know if he could. Seeing the look of adoration on her face, the feelings in her eyes, made everything the way it was supposed to be. For a while, before Jet had initiated the fight with him the other week, he'd wondered about her feelings. Did she love Jet? Had she always had feelings for the boy, rather than him? But the look now, in her eyes, told him everything that he needed to know.

He slowly pulled her over to one of the benches, sitting her down on the cold stone. He gently took her hands between both of his, and he made her open them. Slowly, very slowly, he heated her hands up, willing them to create their own flame.

She instantly shot up out of her seat. "No!" All adoration was gone. Now she had a hard, distant look on her face, and fear in her eyes. Zuko stood up, reaching out to touch her, but she pulled away. When she turned back to him, her eyes were full of tears. "H-how long have you known?"

"A...a while," he said, wishing that she would forget about his trying to show her Firebending and just have a good time. But he knew that he'd have to explain his actions to her now. "Emiko, I just wanted—"

"To embarrass me?" she asked with a quiet, angry intensity. He hadn't seen that fire in her eyes for a long while, and to be honest, it really turned him on. "You wanted to bring me here, show me that you can still Firebend, trying to make me too? Well, I can't, Zuko. I _can't._ I've been trying every night for the past three months, trying to make a flame appear. But it _doesn't_."

She kept trying to go on, but Zuko couldn't take it anymore. He took her face into his hands and roughly kissed her, parting her lips and holding her as tightly as possible. At first she tried to fight him, but then she fell into him and grasped the front of his shirt in her fists.

He slowly pulled away, looking into her lidded, lust-filled eyes. "I didn't bring you here...to embarrass you. I wanted to bring you here so that I can help you." Tears were brimming in her dim, usually bright eyes. He wanted to reach up and wipe the away, but he knew that he had to tell her this first. "Emiko...do you remember when Fire Lord Azulon died?"

Emiko's scared eyes turned very, very confused. "Yes, but what does that have to do with—?"

"Just answer the question!"

She looked a little taken aback, but he didn't feel bad for it. He was trying to help her, for Koh's sake! "Uh...well, he just...died in his sleep one night. There was a funeral, and then..." She looked into his eyes questioningly, as if she were trying to search for something deep within his soul. One of her small, soft hands reached up to cup the side of his face. He took a deep breath as her thumb gently brushed against the edge of his scar, and she looked at it as if she'd never seen it before. "Zuko... what does your mother have to do with my Firebending?"

He placed his hand on top of hers, reveling in the feel of _feeling_ anything around his scar. He could barely feel her finger as it traced gently over where his eyebrow should have been, as it traced around his ear, but he could_ feel_ it. "When my... my mother disappeared...I lost my Firebending for a while, too."

Emiko's breath caught in her throat, and her frightened eyes met his once more. "_What_?" Then, a small hope appeared in her eyes. "But how...I mean, if it was gone, how did you—?"

He used the leverage of his hand on her face to bring her forwards, to kiss her, to shut her up for just _one more moment_ so that he could get this last part out, before he chickened out. She was dazed again when he pulled away, so that he could finish. "Let me finish." She nodded slowly, her eyes lidded again. "There was a meeting...my family, and Azulon. There was a Firebending show, and of course, Azula beat me." She nodded, her thumb gently caressing his cheekbone, telling him to continue. "I could tell that he disapproved. And then the meeting was over. Father stayed behind, mother left, and Azula pulled me behind a tapestry, so that we could listen in. We'd just gotten news that Lu Ten, Iroh's son...that he'd died. My father knew that Iroh had no heir to the throne. He wanted to become the Crown Prince instead of Iroh. And then, Azulon wondered what my father would do if _he_ lost a son. I ran away. That night, my mother came to me in a dream. And then...she was gone."

"And so was your fire," she said softly, looking away, not able to meet his eyes. He nodded. It was hard to open these memories back up, but he had to if he was going to show Emiko that she could find her fire, she just needed a little guidance. "But how did you get it back?"

"Iroh. Together, we got our fire back." She looked as if she had a million questions, then, but he knew that he couldn't answer them. He stopped her before she could even ask. "Now...open your hands."

"But Zuko—"

"Just do it!" he shouted, wishing that for once she would close her mouth and do what he said. Slowly, she looked down at her hands, still clutching his shirt, and she pulled them down, cupping them. "Take a deep breath." She did as he said, closing her eyes and breathing in the calm night. The moon chose to shine a little brighter, right as he cupped his own hands, making a small flame. He slowly sat it in her hands. "Now open your eyes."

She slowly opened her eyes, looking down into the small, flickering fire. And just as slowly, a small smile appeared on her lips. The fire made shadows appear on her beautiful face, and she stared at the fire for only a second longer before looking up at him. It slowly turned white in her hands, growing brighter, stronger. For once in her life, she had nothing to say.

He gently took her chin in between his fingers, pulling her eyes up to meet his. "You're welcome."

* * *

**This chapter is brand new. Like...I just wrote it last week. Everything else was written about a year ago, and edited a few months ago. So I hope that all of you liked it, even if it was a little short.**

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter! It is very, VERY full of people from Emiko's past!**

Suddenly the assistant stood up, his long black hair falling past the middle of his waist. "Amaterasu? You said your name was Amaterasu?"

I nodded, wiping my hands on my apron. "Yes. I'm Amaterasu. Is there some way that I can help you?"

The assistant looked over his shoulder to his boss, who was busy conversing with my Uncle. So apparently he felt the need to move closer. Zuko, behind with Iroh, looked ready to murder. But I knew that I had to hear him out, even if he really knew who I was. I _did_ look a little like my mother... "My name is Ryuu, Miss," he said softly, his black eyes dimming to a simple brown, and I had to blink a few more times, making sure I heard him right.

"_Ryuu_?" I whispered, looking him up and down. We had the same hair, the same stubborn jaw, and there was only one place he could've gotten that nose from.

If this was the Ryuu I was thinking of, then I was staring at my own flesh and blood.


	14. Family and Friends

**Many of you may or may not know about all of the Snow Days in the North, near the Tristate area and such. Well, I'm actually HAPPY about getting to go to school today, (even though there's still four inches of snow on the ground,) so all of you get a chapter EARLY! Yayyyy! :D**

**There are LOTS of surprises in this chapter! And then, there's the next chapter, that all of you will finally say, FINALLY! Really, you will.(: Just remember, 'M'!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. All hail the evil overlords of Viacom!**

* * *

**Family and Friends**

The next week, I had a day off again. It was a pretty, if not slightly overcast day in the Earth Kingdom today, and many people were out running errands, keeping a hopeful light in their hearts, hoping to find their fortune. Maybe I'd found mine in cooking. I had to go in the back to get more ingredients for my rice cakes _again._ It had to have been the seventh time that day. It was late, but still. I hadn't spent that much time with food in a very long time.

Iroh seemed to have found his fortune as well, but then again, I'd always thought that it had been in tea and not in war. He was pouring tea for a wealthy-looking man, his assistant, and his bodyguards. He gave them what tea they ordered with the last of my last batch of rice cakes and then walked away.

As Uncle walked away, they sipped the tea and ate the cakes. From their smiles, I could see that they approved. The leader approached him, leaving his assistant and bodyguards behind him. "So you're the genius behind this incredible brew and this delectable cake!" he exclaimed with a smile. "The whole city is buzzing about you. I hope Pao pays you well."

Uncle smiled in that modest way of his, though he knew that it was all true. "The rice cake isn't mine, but good tea is its own reward." I blushed, deciding to keep quiet.

"But it doesn't have to be the only reward. How would you like to have your own teashop?"

I dropped the batch of rice in my hands in surprise, making them fall onto the floor, useless. "Damn it," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks heat up as everyone glanced at me. I noticed that the man's assistant took the most interest, his black eyes looking at me curiously. "Sorry." The man was lean and tall, his hands strangely large for a noble, as he seemed to be. His hair was long, almost down to the middle of his back, and was a thin midnight black. His eyes were almost the same color. He looked vaguely familiar, but so did half of the other people I met, so I dismissed it and bent down to pick up my ruined food.

"My own tea shop?" Iroh asked in a daze, not even noticing my mistake. "This is a dream come true!"

Pao scampered around from whatever rat hole he'd been in to try and join the conversation. "What's going on here? Are you trying to poach my tea maker?" he asked as he threw his self protectively between Iroh and the man who later I would know as Quon.

Quon laughed, and I knew that he could outdo Pao if he had to. Hell, this man was probably so rich, he could buy one hundred tea shops and not leave a dent in his savings. "Sorry Pao, that's business for you, am I right?"

Pao was increasingly desperate, and I could only imagine why. It was true; Uncle _was _the best tea maker in the city! " Mushi, if you stay, I will make you Assistant Manager! Wait, _Senior_ Assistant manager!"

Quon one-upped him. "I'll provide you with a new apartment in the upper ring. The teashop is yours to do whatever you want. Complete creative freedom."

Uncle was elated, almost to where he was not able to speak. I was frozen in my spot on the back counter, trying to understand where I'd missed something. This didn't happen everyday. A wealthy man came up to us, asking to make our wildest dreams come true? "I even get to name the shop?"

"Of course!" _This...is a little too good to be true._

"Uh, Senior _Executive_ Assistant Manager?" Pao pleaded. But it was in vain, because Iroh set the teapot into the hands of the shop owner, who grimaced in pain. Pao walked off as Iroh and Quon exchanged respectful bows.

I returned to myself, still making my batch of rice cakes, though half of it was useless. "Uncle?" I called, looking into the cabinets. "Where are the spark rocks? I need them to start a fire in the oven."

Behind the elated Iroh, the assistant scratched his head and finished off the last bite of his cake. "These rice cakes taste so _familiar_…"

Uncle was practically bouncing up and down, taking the memorable man out of my sight. "There's no use for the spark rocks anymore, Amaterasu. These men offered us a teashop in the upper ring!"

I felt a smile place itself upon my face, and I tried to be happy for him, I really did. "I'm happy for you, Uncle." Iroh deserved this kind of break. It was only a matter of time, and here it was. But I was still wary of this, of the cons against us. I still couldn't believe it.

Suddenly the assistant stood up, his hair falling past the middle of his waist. "Amaterasu? You said your name was Amaterasu?"

I nodded, wiping my hands on my apron. "Yes. I'm Amaterasu. Is there some way that I can help you?"

The assistant looked over his shoulder to his boss, who was busy conversing with my Uncle. So apparently he felt the need to move closer. Zuko, behind with Iroh, looked ready to murder. But I knew that I had to hear him out, even if he really knew who I was. I _did_ look a little like my mother... "My name is Ryuu, Miss," he said softly, his black eyes dimming to a simple brown, and I had to blink a few more times, making sure I heard him right.

"_Ryuu_?" I whispered, looking him up and down. If it was the Ryuu I was thinking it was, then I was staring at my own flesh and blood. We had the same hair, the same stubborn jaw, and there was only one place he could've gotten that nose from, and it wasn't from me or our mother.

"Yes…I'm sorry, but I can't recall ever meeting you. You just seem very, very familiar to me."

"When you were little," I said simply, not able to meet his eyes. "Did you have a little sister? Two?"

"How did you—"

"And did one of them run away?" He nodded, a look of wonderment passed over his eyes, along with a few tears. "I hope you know that she's very, very sorry for hurting you." The next thing I knew, he took me in his arms and hugged me tightly against him. We hadn't seen each other in three long years, and now here I was standing with my older brother, hugging him like we'd been apart for a lifetime.

Zuko started to serve another table, but stopped when Uncle started talking to him. I saw him glance in my direction and his eyes turn to slits as he observed my brother and I sharing a warm hug. But he didn't have the time to do anything as Uncle started talking. "Did you hear, nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the Upper Ring of the city!"

"That's right young man," Quon said with a large smile, though it didn't look as if he was too happy with Ryuu hugging me, either. "You're life is about to change for the better."

Zuko started to walk away towards the front door, setting down the tray of cups. "I'll try to contain my joy," he said gravely, and that was before he stepped outside. I felt a pang in my heart, and I wanted to follow him, but Ryuu's arm was over my shoulder, and there was no way I was getting away from him. I just sent my heart after him, hoping that he understood. Our night last night had been wonderful. He'd proven to me how he felt through his actions, even if he refused to tell me through words. But I could live, as long as he showed me through actions. I just hoped that he knew that my heart was with him.

The next thing I knew, when I looked up, the towering figure of Quon was shadowing me. "Who is this?" he asked Ryuu, frowning for some reason. Everyone was frowning at me today, and I was getting a little irritated.

Ryuu smiled and hugged me again, this time turning us to the front and putting his arm over my shoulders. "This," he said with some strange pride in his voice, "is my little sister, Amaterasu."

Quon looked at me strangely, but then hugged me in a bear hug. "It's a joy to meet more of my family!"

_And this time I think he means it…_ my brain thought as the oxygen was squeezed out of my lungs. I gasped for air from his embrace. "_Your_ family?" I didn't mention that my stomach was in flames right at that moment, but I didn't feel the need to complain. But what was he talking about? "R-Ryuu, I c-can't breathe."

Quon released me, andRyuu laughed. "That's a long story…that doesn't need to be said right now." It made me smile and stick my head in his chest, snuggling there like a newborn cat-weasel to its mother.

When Uncle walked over to me and shook hands with him, Ryuu's eyes widened in horror. "What in Koh's name—?"

I put my hand over my brother's mouth before he could say anything stupid. "Something else that we need to talk about. And don't worry, we will. Just...not here."

_**That Night...**_

Uncle and I sat inside our old apartment, an awkward silence in between us as we packed up our things. I was packing up my padded kimono and I flinched from the painful memory, making Iroh look up at me with protection. But that wasn't what I wanted at the moment. I wanted to know what was on his mind. "Uncle, please talk to me. Why are you acting like this?" Well, I kind of knew. He was upset because he used to be the closest thing I had to family, and now my brother was in the picture.

"There is nothing to say," he told me casually, shrugging it off.

"There _is_ something," I retorted, glaring at the back of his head, because he wouldn't look at me. "Uncle, I love you so much that I tell you everything. Can't you tell me what's on your mind?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Everything?"

"Well, not _everything_, but—"

"I'm telling you, Emiko, that there is nothing on my mind but the teashop and our happiness in the Upper Ring."

I didn't believe him—and I was about to tell him so—but Zuko walked in and slammed the door behind him. His face was in a dark fury, and I felt scared momentarily.

Which gave Iroh the opportunity to change the subject. "So, I was thinking about names for my new tea shop," he told us, gaily folding up more clothes. "How 'bout _The_ _Jasmine Dragon_? It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it!"

I growled and shoved the last of my things into my luggage bag, angrily muttering about men and how none of them ever wanted to talk. I didn't care if I was being a nag. I wanted to talk to my family without being ignored!

"The Avatar's here in Ba Sing Se," Zuko told us, suddenly extending his arm. And in his hand was a small leaflet. "And he's lost his bison."

Gasping, I snatched the leaflet from his hands. Yup, it was definitely the Avatar's bison. There was information about the bison and where you could contact its owners. But the only thing that I could think of through my fog of panic was..._how can Zuko do this to me? _I forced myself to calm down and tried to make myself see his side of the story. "We have a chance for a new life here, Zuko," I mumbled as he walked to stare out the window. "If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

Zuko spun around to face us, irritated. "Good things that are happening for _you_! Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea and raising a family?"

The last part made me flinch and scrunch my eyes shut. I turned away from them both so they couldn't see the devastated look on my face. _That's what I thought you wanted. But apparently, it was only what _I_ wanted. From last night, I'd thought that he'd wanted something different. But now...? _Any hope for our relationship went directly down the drain. And that was when I left, leaving them both to their own damn talk.

_**Later...**_

There was a period of time that I didn't know what to do. Missy was with her husband and Zuko and Uncle were out Spirits knows where, so I was left alone to brood over today's speech. _"Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea and raising a family?"_

"Yes, Zuko," I growled quietly to myself, walking the streets at midnight. "Yes, I have. You want your honor back. I get it. I've heard it enough to know that you don't want just your honor back, but your throne and that's all that seems to be on your mind."

People who were in front of me moved over, their eyes weary from a day of working. I got a few smiles and waves from people I knew, but those people would be old memories soon. I'd be leaving them, just like I always left people who tried to befriend me. I shunned myself for all of the friends whom I had made old memories of. The Freedom Fighters, Jun, the Pirates—even though they tried to kill me—and so many other wonderful people that I couldn't thank because I'd never see them again.

I looked up and I was suddenly in the little plaza that Zuko had taken me. But I didn't care. My heart was being ripped to shreds inside my chest. I stared up at the sky, wondering exactly what the Spirits wanted from me. "Is this what you want?" I asked softly, wondering if they could hear me. I sure as Koh hoped so. "Do you want me to be miserable? First, you take my mother away from me. And then you take away my friends. Every single one of them. After that, my Firebending. And now you take the man I think I love? You turn him into a crazed Avatar hunter? Well, I hope you know, I _will_ get my Firebending back, and I _will_ become the greatest Sun Spirit there has ever been. You won't break me! Do you hear me? _You won't break me!_"

I turned around, punching the brick wall next to me, wishing that I could change the events of today. I'd thought that things had been going well, but I guess that I was wrong. _I've always been wrong..._

Suddenly, I was pulled from my thoughts by running into a brick wall. When my butt hit the floor, I looked up to see a short black-headed girl looking over me. For a moment, I was peeved beyond imagining. But then I really looked at her, and my heart jumped. The one thing that really made me notice her in the dark were her bright green eyes and apparel of queens. She was tall but thin, and not as tall as me. Her long black hair was pulled to her head elegantly.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" a deep voice boomed from behind her. All I saw was a large shadow, and I suddenly wanted to protect her. But before I could, she set her face and turned to the man, her hands balled up in fists.

"I've had enough of you!" she cried, gesturing to me crazily. "I didn't mean to knock this woman down! She was about to run into me!" Okay, so maybe I _did_ run into a brick wall. This girl was an Earthbender!

Now I saw the man. He was a hulking figure in the dark, his broad shoulders tattooed. He had his hair up in a topknot, his chest bare. His scowling face was the first thing to show through the shadows. His apparel was strange, because he was wearing the bottom armor of most Earth Kingdom soldiers. He wore no shirt except a bandage around his waist.

And now I knew who he was. I'd know that face anywhere. "Sneers!" I cried, launching myself from the ground and into his arms.

Before I actually got there, he held out his arm and caught my head in a massive hand. He held me at arm's length as he looked me over, confusion written on his usually sarcastic face. "Who are _you_?"

I couldn't breathe with his large hand over my face, and I had to use both hands to pull it off of my head. "I can't believe you don't remember me!" I cried, throwing down his hand.

Sneers raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Can I have a hint?"

Okay, so he really _didn't_ remember me. Oh well. "I can't believe it. You'd forget your own training partner?" He looked confused, his face scrunched up in his infamous sneer. The next thing I knew, I was being tackled from behind into a giant bear hug. I looked at the girl and instantly realized that she was…was… "…_Pebble_…?"

"Red!" she cried into my back. "Oh Red I thought you were a goner!" I turned around and pulled the fourteen-year-old into a real hug, against my chest in a mother-like way. I felt tears streaming down my face, and for some reason I couldn't get them to stop. But that was understandable. My best friend was in my arms, when I'd thought that she was dead, but she wasn't. _My friend...Pebble, oh, Spirits, where have you been all this time? Are you alright? Did you suffer much?_

I heard a sigh from beside us, and Sneers was looking down with a glance of sadness. I knew that he had never liked me, but now I saw it in his eyes. I didn't care at the moment, though. I only cared that I had Pebble, that she was real, and that I was holding her. "…I'm so sorry, Pebble," I mumbled into her hair. It still smelled the same. And even though she was older, she had never gotten much taller. She was still shorter than me at my five foot two-ness and here she was, still the same height as before! It made me smile to see her not changing, but I wondered why she was in such an outfit. A fashionable glove covered her arm, and I touched it gingerly with my fingertips. "…So, so sorry…"

She pulled away and smiled at me, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Red, it wasn't your fault. You should know that by now."

I still couldn't forgive myself. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been burned. You were my best friend while we were up there, and then…then I wound up getting you hurt."

She seemed to growl at me, and now I knew I was in for a long lecture, particularly one with strong language in it. But I knew I deserved it. Punching me in the arm, she yelled, "Damn it, Emiko, I swear that I'm fine!"

When she said that, I couldn't control my temper. I grabbed her fancy glove and pulled it off to reveal a scar that was still red, not having turned pink, that stretched up to her elbow. "How is that fine?" I raged, grabbing the girl's arms. My eyes were surely an angry red, and I hoped it scared the hell out of her. Suddenly, I was being tugged backwards by strong arms, and I kicked and struggled against him. "Let me GO, Sneers!"

He gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to let go until you calm down, Firebender," he growled, his grip tightening.

I gasped and stopped kicking. How— I made myself calm down in his arms, and I "…How long have you known?"

Sneers _humph_-ed and shook his head. "I've known since you first came into the Freedom Fighter's camp. I couldn't believe that Jun would take you in, let _alone_ Jet, but…"

"Let her go, Sneers," Pebble said softly, a dark shadow across her face.

He turned to her with surprise on his face, but it turned to determination and he wasn't going to be beaten by a woman. "_No_."

"She is not our enemy!" she yelled, stomping the ground to create a small tremor around us. "We're going to the King's palace, not picking on our friends from long ago. Now put her _down_."

Sneers threw me to the right, and I fell into a group of boxes with a thud. There was tension between them as he growled at her, and he kept up the fight. "Just because you followed me doesn't mean that you can boss me around whenever you want," he growled at her, balling up his fist.

She jabbed an angry finger into his chest and narrowed her eyes. "Sneers, Emiko is our friend and we are here to protect people like her from Long Feng's clutches. And I _didn't_ follow you."

"Emiko is a _Firebender_!" he yelled.

That made her top go off and she grabbed a hold of his shoulders, pushing him to the ground with such force that I felt the ground tremble. They rolled around, their fight the only thing they were concentrating on, while I scooted out of the way and put a hand over my hurt stomach. Sneers picked them both back up, their hands around each other's necks. Suddenly they stopped dead and had looks of surprise and embarrassment on their faces.

Then, the next thing I knew, Sneers pulled Pebble closer and wrapped one arm around her back, the other supporting her head as he leaned her back. Pebble was on her tiptoes when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with fervor.

My mouth dropped open as I watched them share the intimate moment, and I felt ready to pass out. Those two _hated_ each other—absolutely _hated_ each other! How in the world had their relationship gone from fighting to kissing all in one moment?

_There is a fine line between love and hate_, my mind repeated.

They pulled apart and were breathing deeply. Pebble's cheeks filled with blush and she turned away quickly, her mind racing. Well mine was too the first time Zuko kissed me after we fought.

Sneers reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but quickly decided not to when he pulled back.

I cleared my throat and raised an eyebrow, making them look towards me with surprise. Pebble clasped her hands behind her back and Sneers rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Don't mind me," I said dryly, slowly standing up. "I'm just sitting here. But that brings up a question. Why are _you_ here?"

Pebble looked away, sighing. "…My father needs to be stopped."

"Who's your fa—" I started to ask, but Sneers clamped a hand over my mouth. He gave me a look that said, '_We need to talk later.'_ I nodded to him and he pulled away. "I mean, why are you down here in the Lower Ring?"

Pebble kicked a rock that was on the ground and shuffled her feet, keeping her eyes down to the floor. "The train leading to the Upper Ring doesn't leave until morning."

"Do you need a place to stay?"

"Would you really let us?" she asked, looking up with stars in her bright green eyes. I nodded, and she tackled me with a hug. "Thank you, Emiko, thank you!"

I shushed her suddenly and she gave me a questioning look. "Don't call me Emiko. Call me Red or call me Amaterasu, alright?"

There were questions in her eyes. "Alright." But I knew that I couldn't answer them."

_**Later...**_

I made it back in time to see Uncle and Zuko getting off of work. They were in the half-bare living room, Iroh serving some tea. When I walked in the door, Zuko turned around from his pacing and gave me a stern look.

"Where have you _been_?" he asked angrily, pulling me in the door and sitting me on the couch. I looked over to where Pebble and Sneers were standing outside and I gave them a look that told them to wait. This was gonna take a while.

"Zuko, I—" He practically exploded with an angry scream, and then he stormed off, and I exhaled. "Well, _that_ could've gone better." _It wasn't very long at least, though._

"Don't worry," Uncle assured me, silently brooding. "He's been like that since this morning. You'd think he'd be happy with us moving up in the world."

"…Is it because of the poster he found?"

Iroh turned to me with a look of sadness, which told me that yes, it _was_ because the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se. Then he looked out the door at the two Freedom Fighters, his eyebrow up in a questioning arch. "Who're they?"

I smiled and jumped up off the cot, steadying myself on a beam next to me. "Uncle, I want you to meet Pebble and Sneers, two more of my Freedom Fighter friends!"

He pursed his lips as they walked in, scrutinizing them. "…Are they anything like your _other_ friend?"

A pang went through my heart, but I managed to take a deep breath and shake my head. "N-no. Completely opposite, actually."

Iroh exhaled and waved our guests further inside. "Come in, come in, and please make yourself at home!"

Sneers hesitantly entered the small front room, and I knew that in his mind, he was thinking that a Firebender like me deserved something like this. I could care less what he thought, though. Pebble, on the other hand, kept her eyes on Iroh the whole time, never taking them off of him. When Uncle served her tea, her face turned emotionless. "You're General Iroh, aren't you?"

Uncle froze and almost dropped the tea set, while Sneers and I spat out the tea we had just put into our mouths. _What the hell?_

"You're General Iroh, the one who tore down the walls of my city," she said with no tone in her voice.

My mouth dropped open, as did Iroh's. "…_What_?" I asked softly, trying not to cough up what tea I'd already consumed.

She frowned at him and kept her icy green stare locked on his face. "Don't play coy. You're the Dragon of the West. Almost ten years ago, you destroyed the outer wall of the city…but you pulled out for some reason. That of which I _still_ haven't been able to figure out."

Iroh smiled and turned back to his tea. "You are very uniformed for a lady of your age."

"…I'm not the average lady."

Sneers stiffened beside her, and suddenly he seemed protective of her. "…Pebble, you need to get to sleep if we're going to the capital in the morning."

She turned her angry glare on him and looked up to his height. "I'm fine, thank you."

"_Go_."

Angrily she stood up and stormed to the back of the small house, slamming the bedroom door behind her. Then she opened the door back up and said, "Tell them anything and it'll be your head." Finally she slammed the door again.

I looked to Sneers questioningly, but he held up his hand. He wanted to wait until she was asleep.

"Sneers, it's great to see you two again," I mumbled, looking away. "…It was great to see all of you."

He raised an eyebrow. "_All_?"

Iroh nodded solemnly. "Your friends, Longshot, Smellerbee, and Jet."

Sneers smashed his hand on the table. "Jet was here?" He paused his anger and looked back to the door where Pebble disappeared. When nothing but the sound of soft snoring came from the door, he sighed and shook his head. His anger declined. "…She's exhausted."

I raised an eyebrow. "It would appear so."

He got what I meant, and his back stiffened. "Look, that wasn't the first time, okay?"

"I'm listening." I didn't know why my parental side was suddenly coming out, but it was and right then every nerve in my body was on high alert.

Sneers sighed, and Uncle got a correct notion that we needed to be alone. He left the room silently, probably going off to find his nephew. But that was okay, because my former friend had some things to explain.

"…Her father is here in the city," he blurted suddenly, making me jump. He had perspiration on his forehead, and now he was speaking quickly. "When I figured it out, I decided to try and find him myself. You know, to confront him and see why Pebble hated him so much."

"Sneers, that's not—" But he never even let me say that that wasn't what I meant.

"So after a few days of traveling I heard something behind me. I never figured out what it was, but a nagging feeling told me to be careful. Finally I caught her and her campfire. She was so surprised that she attacked me, and she practically killed me." He snorted from the memory.

"I hardly find that funny."

He smiled at me, and for a second I could see why Pebble picked him for her special guy. "Believe me, it wasn't at the time. So anyways she healed me back, and one night when she didn't know I was awake she was kneeling over me. Saying something like, 'Please Spirits, don't let him die. It's all my fault. Don't punish me by killing him.' I don't know, something came over me. I…I ended up sitting up and taking her in my arms. Like I had to protect her or something. But then I took one look at her and I swore I had to kiss her, and I did."

I nodded, but the hard look never left my face. "…You do know that she was in pain, right?" I had been too. It was called painkillers, but I don't think that Sneers had been on them. "Pain makes you do crazy things."

He glowered at me, and I remembered why they called him Sneers. "Yes, I do know that. _I_ was in pain too. It just…kind of made sense at the time. But now we get into random fights about meaningless things and we end up kissing one another, and then we don't speak for stretches of time."

I nodded. Yup. This was sounding pretty familiar. "But that wasn't what I was talking about."

He froze and swore under his breath. Apparently he had thought that I wanted to know about what was going on between the two, but I really could've cared less. Pebble was practically a grown woman who could take care of herself. "You're saying that I told you all of that for _nothing_?"

Again, I nodded. "Yup. All I wanted to know was why Pebble's father is so important."

Sneers looked down at his feet, something I had never seen him do. He had a hard time getting most of this out. Finally he set his jaw and turned to me. "Listen, _Emiko_—"

And that was the final straw. I hadn't even sensed it coming, but there it only takes one straw to break a bear-camel's back, and the way he had spoken to me just set me off. "No, _you_ listen Sneers."

He gave me a confused look that I countered with a grimace.

"You had better get over your damned self and think about Pebble for once. Just tell me what the hell you're doing here, and maybe I won't lose my temper.

"…You _do_ know who her father is, _don't_ you?"

I shook my head and leaned against the doorframe of our house. It was getting kind of late and Zuko and Uncle weren't back yet. "No."

Pebble and I had more in common than I thought, but her father… I was pretty sure that her father was a lot like mine. I hoped that it was nothing as serious, but it probably was. I just hoped that Sneers was up for the task.

He sighed. "…Her father is the Earth King's Royal Advisor, Long Feng."

I snorted. It really didn't surprise me any. The first time I had met Pebble, she seemed really stuck-up and prissy. Well, she proved to me that even someone born with high blood could be turned into a scavenger. "Figures."

"So you _knew_?" Sneers asked accusingly.

I didn't like the tone in his voice, but I forced myself to calm down. I knew I couldn't blame my outburst on the full moon. "No. I just knew that she was born high-on-the-hog."

"So did I. After…after you joined the Freedom Fighters, she never mentioned her father to anybody else but you. But after you left, she didn't have anyone to dump on so she confided in me. I figured out who he was and tried to go after him, and here we are."

There was a silence. But finally, I broke it. "So her father is a bad man, I take it."

"Yup."

"This Long Feng guy?"

"Yup."

"I've never heard of him."

"I had. Because I used to live here myself."

This I had never heard. I turned to him and watched as his eyes glazed over, telling me that he was looking back to the past. "When General Iroh attacked Ba Sing Se, my father was killed by his soldiers. My mother was sick and died soon after. I didn't have anyone, that is, until I found Pipsqueak. He took me in and we raised ourselves for a while."

I had never heard of Sneers talking about himself so freely. He probably figured that if Pebble could trust me—a _Firebender_—then so could he. "I never knew…"

"After I turned thirteen, Pipsqueak was sixteen and he decided that we should leave. That was when we found Jet and Longshot and a bunch of other rebels. Now we've grown so much over the years, Smellerbee and Pebble included."

I smiled. "Don't forget me."

He smirked and looked up at me, sincerity in his eyes. "How could I?"

Shrugging, I turned back to looking out the door. "Don't know." I listened into the soft snoring of Pebble, and then I heard Sneers shuffle to his feet.

"I'm going to head off to bed. Knowing Pebble, she'll want to be up and out at the butt-crack of dawn."

"How early do the monorails open?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. I guess we'll find out after lunch." I turned to him to see if he was joking, and he had a large smile on his face. He reminded me of Pipsqueak with that smile, but I just shook my head and laughed.

"Okay. There should be extra blankets in the room Pebble is in. You can sleep in there if you'd like. You know, to keep an eye on her." _And that better be all he's doing_, my brain said.

I chuckled at the thought, watching the muscled giant walk to the back of the room and open the small door, gingerly closing it behind him. There was a moment of shuffling, an angered groan, and then Pebble's snoring continued.

Those two were good together. They needed to contradict one another.

After a while I heard Sneer's snoring, and then I started to doze off where I stood. Zuko and Iroh _still_ weren't back, and that worried me some. I sat down on the small cot in the living room and rested my elbows on my knees, cupping my face in my hands.

It would only be a matter of time until my men came home.

_**Later...**_

When Zuko came through the door, I was instantly awake and on my feet. It had never occurred to me that they would be so late, but I had fallen asleep anyways.

Uncle walked in behind him with a pleased look. "You did the right thing, letting the Avatar's bison go free," he said as he closed the door behind him. "It's made me see things different about you."

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave them both harsh looks, and Iroh gave me a look back that said, '_Uh oh, I'm gonna get it.'_

_Yeah_ he _was_ gonna get it.

"Where—have—you—been?" I asked through clenched teeth, trying to keep my anger under control. "I've been worried _sick_! You leave me alone on one of the most vulnerable nights of my life and now you're—?"

I paused and watched as the ninja-clad Zuko stumbled across the room to the cot. "I don't feel right…"

Ignoring him, I angrily turned my nose to the air and set my jaw. "What do you mean you don't—" I was interrupted by Zuko who, collapsing unconscious to the floor, breaking the vase that Uncle had bought the first day we got here. But I wasn't worried about the vase. I rushed to the Prince's side. "_Zuko_?"

* * *

**Well, you all know what happens after this. BUT...lets just say...that my version is a little **_**different.**_** Just a wee bit. (;**

Suddenly Emiko gasped and loosened her legs from him, making him growl from the lost proximity. "Zuko, you…?"

He settled his eyes down onto her, not even thinking about the three words he had just uttered. "_Emiko…_" His lips gently brushed against her cheekbone, causing her to let out a small sigh. Then he lovingly placed a kiss on her soft lips. She slowly relaxed and started kissing him back, tangling her fingers in his hair, showing him how she felt with the way she moved against him.

_I…I love you. I want to love you. Do you love me too?_


	15. Torment

_****REMINDER****_

**This story is rated 'M' for a reason. Anyone who is underage or adverse to this kind of reading, please, read up until Zuko says those three words that you've all been waiting for, and then scroll down almost all the way to the end, or just skip it entirely. **

**And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I do own a bright blue violin, but I don't own Avatar. (:**

* * *

**Torment**

Zuko tossed and moaned on his futon in the apartment. He felt so horrible…what was that feeling inside? Like two different sides of him were tearing his body and mind apart from the inside out. He was burning up, his throat aching for liquid.

He had never felt anything like it.

Something beside him stirred, and he watched as a snow white hand reached to take a cloth from a tub of water. "You're burning up," a familiar voice choked out. "You have a fever. Its bad, even for a Firebender." The hand placed the saturated cloth over his brow. "This should help cool you down."

"So thirsty…" he said feebly. He didn't even recognize his own voice, but he knew that it was him talking. He tried to sit up, and that was when he saw that the snow-white skin belonged to Emiko.

She had deep circles under her eyes, her black hair bringing them out even more. Her once rosy cheeks were sallow and pale, her eyes dull and lifeless.

She put a gentle but firm hand on his bare shoulder, making him cringe away from her touch. He had a fever now, he noticed, because her cool skin was even colder to him. "No. You're not moving yet." She ladled water from another bucket, holding his head up. "Here's some water to drink." He took her hands and drank it hungrily, not noticing as some of it trickled down his chin and neck. Her icy hands weren't as much of a shock now that he knew they were coming and he welcomed the coolness. "Stay under the blankets and sweat this out."

On an impulse, Zuko snatched the ladle from her and drained it completely. He tossed it away, needing more. He turned and grabbed the bucket, pouring it down his throat and splashing his chest. He hurled it against the wall behind him in a blind rage and watched as Emiko cringed and splinters flew everywhere.

An urge ran up his throat and suddenly he was coughing violently, his chest heaving up and down as he gasped for air. Emiko sobbed, putting her hands to her face, and for the first time Zuko noticed the tear streaks on her cheeks.

Once his coughing fit was over, he settled back down, his whole body worn out from the few minutes of consciousness. Emiko ran her fingers through his hair and smiled weakly. Putting a rag on his head, she whispered, "Sleep, my Prince… And get well."

_**Later...**_

Zuko kept moaning and tossing, trying to fight whatever was fighting him. It might've been easier to battle if he knew who he was facing. It always ended up that way. Like when he thought he was going to fight the General but instead faced his father. Or when he was facing the Red Spirit and thought it was some person impersonating him. But instead it was Emiko.

Her beautiful face kept showing up in his fever dreams, his mind showing different conclusions of their lives. He could picture her, round with a baby in her stomach, cooing over other children around her. Dark-haired, yellow-eyed children. But one girl stood out. Her dark hair splayed around her freckled face, bright topaz eyes looking up at him. She was the spitting image of her mother.

But Zuko had no idea why he was thinking this way. He simply thought that it was because of his fever dreams, but he didn't know… Was this his heart messing with his mind? Was it trying to tell him something, give him a message?

He still couldn't figure it out when a cool cloth was placed over his forehead. Emiko mopped Zuko's feverish brow with the damp cloth, and he noticed that Iroh still wasn't there.

"…Emiko…"

Startled, she jolted slightly. Her tired eyes looked down on him with awe, as if she hadn't known that he was awake. He could still see the bags under her eyes, but now they were even darker. He took her cold hand in his and placed it against his face, sighing from the feeling.

…Maybe those dreams meant something after all.

She slowly pulled her hand away and caressed his cheek, making him take her fingers in his hand and kiss them one by one. She shivered and closed her eyes. "Sleep, Zuko," she begged softly. "Please sleep."

He turned her hand over in his and kissed her palm, feeling how somehow the heat from him declined as he did so. Her palm slowly warmed up. Emiko took her hand from his grasp and held it against her stomach, closing her eyes to breathe deeply. He closed his eyes and tried to doze off, which was when he heard her start to hum.

He took her humming in as if it were a sweet scent or her beauty. The beginning was soft, barely audible to his ears. But the complex center of the song was even better than the start. He searched for her hand even though his eyes were closed and he found it.

She stopped humming, which made him open his eyes. "Don't stop."

Emiko seemed hesitant. But, after a few seconds of thought, she reached over with her other hand and closed his eyes with her fingertips. The climax of her song ensued and he fell into a deep sleep, a black-haired, yellow-eyed child on his mind.

_A figure knelt upon the Fire Lord's throne-mat behind a screen of golden flames. Rows of Fire Nation soldiers genuflected towards the throne, and they bowed at Zuko. Dressed in the raiment and crown of the Fire Lord, his serene face was without scar or blemish. _

_As he sat impassively, the door in the front of the room opened and an older, longer-haired Emiko walked in. "Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord?" she asked, holding her hand to her neck where an eccentric necklace lay. It looked strange that it should be there where her mother's used to be._

_She placed her other hand on her enlarged stomach, rubbing it unconsciously. She had to be at least six months pregnant._

"_I'm not tired," he told her, watching without surprise as her body elongated. Her pupils were turned to crescents, her skin turned to colorless scales. Her hair was pulled taught along them, staining its color into the new scales._

_A Red Dragon._

"_Good, good…" she whispered._

_A Blue Dragon slithered down the left pillar as Emiko's Red Dragon slithered up the right. "Relax, Fire Lord Zuko…" the Blue Dragon said with Azula's voice. "Just let go, give into it. Shut your eyes for awhile…"_

"_No, Fire Lord Zuko!" the Red Dragon said urgently to his face. "Don't listen to the Blue Dragon. You should get out of here right now. Please, go! Before it's too late!"_

"_Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko…" the Blue Dragon said calmly._

_Both dragons disappeared. The throne room was swallowed by inky blackness, and the four pillars crumbled and fell into the void. As the room fell dark, the soldier's armor collapsed to the floor, empty. Zuko searched the darkness, eyes wide with distress. _

_Two golden eyes appeared, then the face of the Blue Dragon, which closed in rapidly. Its voice rose with each word. "Sleep, just like MOTHER!"_

_The dragon's jaws gaped wide, swallowing Zuko in complete darkness. Within that darkness, a figure of Ursa dropped her hood as she drew closer. "Zuko, help me!" she plaintively called._

_Zuko's distraught face reflected in her eyes, and he fell into them. Fire Lord Zuko was kneeling once more on the throne-mat in a sea of blackness, and a hole seemed to open up beneath him, swallowing everything. _

Emiko poured hot tea into a stoneware cup. "Apparently...this isn't a natural sickness." Her voice wavered, but she smiled at him without humor or happiness. He could see it in her eyes that she was just trying to distract herself.

She supported his head as he drank, and he tried to drink in his surrounding as well. They were still in the Lower Ring in their first apartment, Iroh still nowhere to be seen.

Zuko felt disorientated. "Wha…what's happening?"

She smiled weakly at him, helpless to do anything. "Your critical decision, what you did beneath that lake…it was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are at war within your own mind and body." There was a pause. "…At least, that's what Uncle said."

Zuko took a second sip of the tea, savoring its unique taste. He knew it was something along those lines, but still… "What's that mea—" he asked, interrupted when he collapsed in a fit of coughing.

Emiko bent down and hugged his chest with all of her force, warm tears flowing from her eyelids. She shuddered from their touch, and he just wrapped his arm around her and rubbed his hand up and down her arm to create friction.

She pulled away and wiped her eyes with the butt of her hand. "Y-you're going through a _metamorphosis_. Uncle said that it won't be a pleasant experience, but I know that when you come out of it you'll be the beautiful Prince you were always meant to be." She brushed the bangs out of his eyes and smiled as if she could imagine it perfectly.

"W-where _is_ Uncle?" he mumbled, turning his head towards her tiredly.

She mopped Zuko's forehead with another damp cloth. "He's at our apartment in the Upper Ring. Iroh said something about…_needing to find your own way_. But…I couldn't leave you." She leaned down and kissed him, salty tears mixing up with the taste of her.

Zuko wanted more than just that one kiss. But he was so tired that he unwillingly laid still and closed his eyes until he fell into another restless sleep filled with fever dreams.

_**Hours later...**_

_Zuko was sleeping inside the apartment. Rising wearily, he left the bed walking past a sleeping Emiko who was lying on the floor, pained and holding her stomach. He slid open a door to the small washroom and splashed water from a basin over his face. Then he looked up into the mirror. The Prince was startled to see his reflection mimicked that of the Avatar. It was without his scar, completely bald, and bared the blue arrow tattoo. _

With a howl, he suddenly woke from his sleep, sitting up in a jolt and breathing heavily with wide eyes. He placed his fingers around his left eye, and then he realized that he still bared his terrible scar.

Emiko stirred and suddenly she was sitting up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. At least her cheeks had some color in them now and the circles under her eyes were partially gone.

"Huh-uh," she told him wearily as she pushed him back down. "_Spirits, _I shouldn't have fallen asleep_._"

This new realization that she had spent so much time awake just for him made the guilt in his heart double. He suddenly gained strength and stayed up. He didn't feel like laying back down anyways. He wanted to apologize. Giving her a defying look, he silently dared her to challenge him.

She sighed as if she would've rather stayed away from conflict. "You need to rest…"

Without answering, Zuko pulled her into his arms and onto his lap facing him, holding tightly. He didn't know why he did it, but he _did _know that he had to do one thing. For the first time in forever, he craved something, and her lips were filling that craving.

She pulled back in surprise, but he pushed his lips to hers hungrily. She whimpered in fright, but he ignored it and parted her lips ferociously, his tongue attacking hers with a passion. He ravaged her, his hands pushing apart the fabric of her kimono.

"_Z-Zuko!_" she gasped when he pulled away and started the ravaging of her neck.

He growled low in his throat and tore the top from her, revealing a breast binder that showed a lot and left little to the imagination. She tried to fight him, to stop him, but he was beyond stopping. He'd wanted her for a long time, and he was going to have her.

Her legs tightened around his waist, pushing her maidenhood against his aching groin. She ran her nails down his bare chest, causing him to grasp her wrists and push her backwards, down and onto the floor. She cried out when she impacted, sending a fog of need and lust over his vision. His lips sucked on the spot under her ear that made her gasp and wiggle seductively underneath him.

Zuko bit at her ear, making her breathing turn ragged. By this point Emiko was his for the taking. "_Emiko_…" he whispered in her ear, gently nipping around the outer edge of her ear. She sucked in a deep breath, her legs tightening around his. "_I…I love you…_"

Suddenly she gasped and loosened her legs from him, making him growl from the lost proximity. "Zuko, you…?"

He settled his eyes down onto her, not even thinking about the three words he had just uttered. His lips gently brushed against her cheekbone, causing her to gasp. Then he lovingly placed a kiss on her soft lips. She slowly relaxed and started kissing him back, tangling her fingers in his hair and taking short, loving kisses from him.

_I…I love you. I want to love you. Do you love me too?_

He didn't bother questioning himself further as he ran his calloused thumb over the swell of her cheek, or wonder she always smelled like ginseng at night. He couldn't help but slowly lean down, using his thumb to gently part her plump, moist lips before his barely ghosted over the lower, then the upper, making her sigh and relax against his body.

Zuko barely brushed his lips against hers again, back and forth as they got the feel of each other, as he tasted her, as she slowly warmed to the idea of _them_. It was torture to have to stay there while her fingers worked their way up his shirt, skittering, feeling. He hadn't had these feelings reciprocated in years, and it was marvelous, and his body was eager to move on. He stopped his rushed feelings by gently placing his hands on her curved waist, careful not to go too far down to those wide hips.

He knew how to take it slow, and he knew when a woman was ready to move on again. Though it had been years, and he knew that she was…novice. Did he take it slower, faster? He wasn't sure as he put a slight more pressure against her lips. She took a deep breath—of surprise, worry, anticipation?—and he tangled his fingers in that short, curly, thick, luscious hair.

Her body against his, her rapidly beating heart next to his, and it all sent this into realization—_this was happening._ There was a woman who was attracted to him, who was lying here, not disgusted, kissing him, acting as if she really did want this. But she seemed scared. Her entire being was hesitant, as if she were afraid to show him that she were inexperienced. He wasn't sure if it were up to him to show her or not.

It was torture to have to move so slow, to take it easy, to not scare her further. He gave much, much attention to that lower lip to make up for it. A little for every night he spent dreaming about a moment like this, a little for every day he spent imagining it. His imagination was nothing like the real thing, though, and he wanted this to last as long as possible.

She started to relax underneath him again, so he knew that it was time to move a slight bit more. He gently bit down on her lower lip, pulling it slowly away to open her lips to him. Emiko gave a whimper of need, which sent an ache pulsing to his already-throbbing phallus. Her leg slowly twined with one of his, pulling them closer when he tilted his head to the side, joining their mouths while only partially open to one another.

He pulled on her lips, nibbling, teasing. He gently touched the seam of her lip with his own tongue, but she whimpered in fright. This way, he knew that she wasn't ready for that, not yet, not tonight, when he would take her.

No matter how much he loved tasting her, wanting more of her and being able to have her, every human needed air. He slowly released her, gently dragging his lips down her throat to rest on her pulse point, nibbling slightly and making her let out a sexy little moan. He couldn't help but smile against her skin when he felt her pulse beating wildly, nor could he help untangling his hands, letting them roam down her waist, to rest on her hips and pull her closer as he ravaged her neck.

Her breasts teased him as they pushed against he expanse of his chest, her parted legs against the part of him that wanted her. Spirits, he wanted her. He was surprised that she didn't pull away in fear when she moved her hips against his, feeling his lust moving against her maidenhood.

"Z-Zuko…" she gasped, still trying to catch her breath.

_**Emiko**_

What was he _doing_? Were we going to make love? Was he going to finally show me what it was like for everyone else out there? He made all of this seem like as if it were nothing, that what we were doing was right. It was wrong, we weren't married! _What would Iroh say? What would...ohhh..._ I felt good, though, tilting my head back to allow him access to my neck.

He gladly took it, nibbling along there as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I pulled him closer by tangling my fingers in his short hair and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. I loved the feel of his hair through my fingers, loved the way his body fit against mine perfectly.

Zuko must have been trying to comfort me, getting me used to the thought of us being together, because he didn't stop touching me, or letting his lips roam over my neck. Though just feeling his body against mine made me ready to move on. He must have noticed, because he suddenly bit the side of my neck. Unbeknown what this feeling in my womb was, I gasped and wrapped my leg around his, trying to get us closer. He looked up at me, a little bit of animal hidden in his eyes.

I leaned forwards and kissed his lips softly, gently nibbling his lower lip, trying to understand what he wanted me to do, what he wanted _us_ to do.

He took over with an animal-like growl, parting my lips roughly, entwining his tongue with mine. I hadn't spent long in the realm of men, obviously, besides with Zuko, but I was still uncomfortable with this pleasure. I accidentally bit his lower lip when he grasped my butt and pulled my hips harder against his. "_Wrap your legs around me_," he growled in a voice that didn't seem like him.

I was a little afraid, but it felt so wonderful and there was some strange pain between my legs, so I complied. I kicked up, one leg going around him first, then the other. He only pulled me harder against him, then pushed me harder against the floor.

His tongue ravaged my mouth as he positioned himself between my legs, his hands touching, stroking, holding my body against him. But when he brushed a hand against one of my breasts, I gasped and squeezed my legs. He groaned inside my mouth. I tightened them even more when his hand cupped my breast, his thumb working circles around the hardened tip. I didn't know what the burst of adrenaline inside of me meant, but it was amazing and painful at the same time. I wanted..._what do I want?_ I wanted more skin to touch!

My hands found the top button to his shirt and frantically started pulling at them. The first few popped open when he started showing attention to my other breast, making me moan into his hot mouth. One of my hands went into his shirt, feeling the smoothness of his planed chest.

In the next moment, time seemed to stop. He was looking directly at me, his lips a breath from mine. My voice didn't seem to work at the moment, looking into those amazing eyes. I tightened my legs around his hips, making him groan slightly, his eyes wild and dark. I wondered if his sickness was driving him to this, or if he really wanted it. He wanted me, I knew that. He wanted me, and I…I loved him. So I wanted it too.

His lips attached right under my jaw once more. I took this opportunity to pull open the last buttons on his shirt. I pushed it back and off of his broad shoulders, leaning down to plant kisses on his bare skin.

He allowed me to explore his body now, his hands deftly massaging my round thighs. My womb clenched for the hundredth time in those few moments. I wasn't sure what these feelings were, expanding and warming my insides, or what the pain between my legs was, but all I knew was that I wanted something much, much more than this.

"_Zuko_," I groaned, placing my head in his neck as he started shifting his hips against mine, creating friction where I wanted much, much more.

He put one hand on the floor to hold himself up when I ground my hips against his once more. He let his other one wander, and his eyes follow. My clothes were mostly gone, somehow, and yet so were his. I gently ran my hands down his chest, trying to calm myself. I'd seen it before, and I'd felt it before, but not like this, not with these feelings.

"You are so beautiful," I whispered, letting my hands wander upwards, to gently grasp his face. I let my thumb run gently over his cheeks, over his scar, and he flinched, losing the crazed look in his eyes. For a moment, he tried to pull away, but I wouldn't let him. "You are. I love you."

He smiled a soft, true smile, one that I wished would appear more often. Smiling back, I leaned forwards and gently kissed him, wanting to know more of the feelings that he stirred in me.

_**Zuko**_

Zuko couldn't help but feel heartened by her words, though someway-somehow-she had to be lying, telling him a falsehood that would only try to make him feel better. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, though. His share of women had mostly been small, tiny things that could break under his touch, and he'd never had a woman with curves-a real woman.

Her kisses intoxicated him, and he gently straddled those wide hips that were looking very, very enticing at the moment. He didn't know if he could keep up the slowness of their kiss or not, or if he would scare her if he moved faster. There was always that slip of cloth around her maidenhood, and the wrap around those round breasts to tend to, though…

Very slowly, he lowered his hips onto hers, and she moaned against his lips. He wanted to take it farther, but it would only scare her. If he was going to take her tonight, he was going to go slow.

Or he was going to try. He was going mad with the fever burning up inside of him, and he didn't know what it had done to his self-control. He'd wanted this for a very, _very _long time.

She leaned back with his prodding, until she was directly under his muscular frame. Her slender hands tangled into his hair, and she pulled his lips down onto hers harder, begging him to open his mouth. He surrendered with a moan and held himself up with his arms so he wouldn't hurt her. He could feel her breasts heaving underneath him, teasing him into something more. He felt her hips gently moving against his in a slow, rhythmic movement.

For the past few moments, his tongue had been ravaging hers. He tilted his head to the side more, wanting more of him in her mouth. She opened wider without question, like she wanted what he was giving to her.

Emiko wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer. His phallus was right against the spot it wanted most, and he couldn't help but moan out her name in a manner that was most unbecoming to a Prince.

In a growl of self-preservation, or more of _her_ preservation, he grabbed her wrists and pulled them above her head. She gave out a cry of pain that made his gaze go foggier and a deep growl come from his throat, his groin aching at certain prospects that ran through his mind.

He held her wrists with one hand, then moved his own hand down to caress every part of her body. She was breathing heavily and moaned when his hand touched the inside of her thigh. He played there for a moment, dancing closer to her womanhood, then skittering away. He didn't release her lips, and her moans were hot in his mouth. Her hips pumped up to his, touching his enlarged groin, making him bite her lower lip roughly.

When the hand ran back up, it gently brushed one of her supple breasts. He palmed her, gently massaged it as he forced himself not to pull tear off the flimsy binder. She groaned in his mouth when his callused thumb circled the hardened tip of her breast.

_Are you ready for me?_ he wondered as he kissed her neck, wondering at the salty taste of her skin, and the wondrous feeling of her legs cradling his hips. She was frantically tearing her hand from his to grasp the fabric that separated them, trying to rip it off. He chuckled throatily and roughly pushed her hand away, calling over a small flame from her candle and burning the small side of the underwear, tearing them off quickly.

The flames died back down as soon as he started kissing her, though every time he aroused her they rose back up, creating shadows of the two lovers as they searched each others bodies. His fingers deftly moved between them, touching wetness between their almost-joined bodies. Even through the haze of his sickness, he knew that he didn't want to hurt her. He wanted her to enjoy this as much as he knew that he was going to, but as she was a maiden, it would be very, very unlikely.

Zuko rocked his hips back, to better position himself, and then he slowly pushed into her. He marveled at the tightness of her tunnel, at the fact that his seductress was a virgin, only for him, all his. The tightness was so wonderful, he couldn't help but moan against her neck. His sickenss made him want to just tear into her, to take what he'd been wanting, but something inside of him wanted this for her, too. He had to take it slow.

He knew that she was hurting. She ran her nails down his back, running her feet along the backs of his thighs. "Z-Zuko, it h-hurts."

"_I'm sorry_," he gasped, reaching up to gently stroke her hair. His will was in shreds, so he knew that he had to do this very, very slowly, else wise he would _really_ hurt her. Slowly, centimeter by centimeter, he pushed until he was at her virginal wall. She anticipated the pain, tightening around his shaft. "_Emiko_," he growled, stuffing his face in her shoulder to hold back his cry of not only pleasure, but pain. "_Relax_."

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning her head back and trying to do as he asked. She took a deep breath, and he was rewarded with a sense of relief and disappointment.

_Do it quick_, he thought, waiting for her tunnel to become accustomed to his size before he did so. He himself anticipated, before finally he pushed through.

She gave a small scream, her body tightening dangerously around him as they both clung to each other. He gritted his teeth as her nails dug into his back. He slowly ran his hands down her body, trying to make sure she was alright. He'd never taken someone's virginity before, and he felt a slight loss, a sadness. He felt like a monster, that he was causing her this pain. But he loved her, and he wanted to show her in more ways than one. He gently caressed her body, trying to make her relax.

Emiko took a deep, shaky breath, and he wished that he could somehow ignore the wet tears on his shoulder. "I think I'm ready," she said in a very soft, almost non-existent voice.

_I'll wait one more moment, _he thought, leaning down to kiss her sweat-covered temple. _If I can_, he added silently, sending up a prayer to whatever God watched over him that he had the power to resist the tight canal that was cradling him.

After she slowly started to become more accustomed, he felt her relax, and he couldn't help but touch her. She moved very slightly, and he let his thumbs caress the skin between her leg and maidenhood. He started moving, but she tightened in anticipation again, and he leaned his forehead down onto hers, letting out a moan of guilty pleasure at the pain she was causing him. "_Relax._"

"I-I'm sorry, I-I-"

He kissed her softly, lovingly, and stroked her hair. Emiko brought her hands up and cupped his face, pulling him away to look him in the eyes. "I trust you, Zuko. I love you too."

Just hearing that heartened him. Zuko clenched his eyes shut and focused on pleasing her. He rocked his hips slowly to the side, watching as her face turned from hesitation to wonder, then to pure ecstasy. He kept this up for a few moments, before pulling out slightly to push back in. He heard her breath catch in her throat, and her nails slowly raked across her stomach. He saw this and instantly grasped her hands, putting them on his back.

"I-I c-can't hurt y-you," she gasped, her voice catching again when he pulled away and pushed back in, this time a little harder. "Y-you're sick." Her tightness was such a blessing that he could have wept, and he almost did, but he couldn't make her think that she was doing something wrong.

"Use me," he gasped, unable to speak with the pure pleasure that rocked him. She nodded hesitantly, though her thoughts were soon sent elsewhere. Zuko leaned down to kiss her, a little roughly, he thought later as he looked back, but worth it, and she tangled her fingers in his hair, letting him teach her much, much more.

Emiko was starting to understand how to move her body against his, sending Zuko's pleasure higher. He moaned her name into her mouth, placing his hands on her hips so that he could start her rocket to pleasure. His thumb deftly moved between their joined bodies, and she jumped. A small gasp came from her when his thumb rubbed over the sensitive little nub hidden beneath the patch of curly black hair.

He quieted her next few gasps, rocking to show her more of what she could have. Her sexy little moans were about to undo him. Zuko groaned and leaned down to kiss her thoroughly, wondering if she actually knew the pleasure she was bringing him was the best that he had ever felt.

She nodded, as if she understood what he'd meant in that kiss, and gasped when his pace sped up. "Oh, Zuko," she moaned, arching her back into his thrusts. She tilted her hips up, and the next time that he thrust in, they were connected at the hilt. Zuko felt her walls contract, and then the soft liquid of her orgasm surrounding his cock.

Emiko's orgasm was not quiet, and she shouted his name, her nails raking over his back as he sped up, harder, faster. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, making him hit a spot that made her writhe in sexual arousal.

Zuko's peak came soon after, and he bit down on her neck, feeling his seed spew out into her. He tasted blood on his lips, felt her arms around him, and hoped that he had not just ruined her life.

_**The Next Morning...**_

Zuko awoke to a strange feeling. Everything was…_blurry_. He tried to think about what had happened, but nothing came to him.

Once his eyes opened, he was looking into the face of a beautiful angel. She looked like a sleeping child, lying there next to him. He smiled and looked down to reach and caress her cheek. Her skin wasn't cold to him anymore, and he silently smiled. Maybe things were finally turning back to normal.

She stirred slightly and he held his breath in anticipation. For some reason he couldn't imagine, every bone in his body was tingling, as if the ligaments to his bones were jelly: like he was a jellyfish. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was still strange. Actually, it was wonderful. He felt relieved, he felt relaxed, and mostly, he felt loved.

He maneuvered his body to where he could bend down and gently touch his lips to hers. That was when the night's events rolled through his body, and he startled.

How could he have done that to her? After all of the caution, all of the talk, he had taken precautions to not end up like this. He wanted to kick himself, but hug her to him and tell her so many things at the same time.

What would she do when she figured it out? He flinched as he saw the small amount of blood pooled between her thighs. _Oh Spirits, what have I done to her?_ He had taken one thing that could never be given back!

What if she was…_Koh, she could be pregnant…_

And if that happened, he would take responsibility.

The Prince got up and returned her kimono to her body without waking her and left to get ready. After he had shaven and dressed, he left the back room to check up on the woman he loved.

Loved.

He had never even thought about it until that moment. For some reason he vaguely remembered telling Emiko that, but it had to be a dream! It was such a strong word. But was it even true? As he looked down upon her sleeping form, he knew it even before she mumbled his name in her sleep. A small smile appeared on her face and she sighed.

Yes, he loved her with all his heart. Did it take one striking illness to tell him that? His mind felt clearer, his heart full. He bent down to kiss her cheek once more.

As he walked out the door to find Uncle in the Upper Ring, he smiled to himself.

Maybe he would get a necklace on the way home.

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**I have nothing to say! I think that this chapter says enough! :D**

**Here's a look at the next chapter, "A New Life:"**

"Oh!" Emiko exclaimed after taking a sip of her bowl, almost spitting out the hot liquid. He noticed that she hadn't even tried to sit down, and she was gingerly favoring her right leg.

The Prince chuckled, though a pang went through his heart when he realized that he had hurt her the night before, probably having grasped her hips too tight as he trust into her, and- "It's hot," he reminded her in a chiding, laughing voice, but one filled with guilt and lust as well.

She waved her hand as if the liquid was burning her tongue, but then she swallowed and took a deep breath. Giving a wry look to the man sitting across the room from her, she said, "Not _the soup_, Zuko…I just remembered something important. My brother wants us to come over for dinner before we open the teashop."

Uncle nodded, seeming to think over it as he stroked his beard. "That can be arranged." But there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

She frowned, her eyes slightly emotionless as she stared down into her bowl. "He said he had something special to tell me. I can't figure it out, but I'm so worried that he'll figure out about you guys." Biting her lip, she looked out the window and kept a distant expression on her face. She sighed and ran her hand through her short, curly hair. "I have to tell him everything."

Uncle raised one of his eyebrows. "Everything?"

"He recognized you, Uncle. He'll recognize Zuko too!" She took a deep, shaky breath and tried to keep her emotions close, but it was difficult for her. Now that Zuko had made love to her, he felt as if he could recognize every emotion in her; she was panicking.

Uncle shook his head and smiled, stirring his _jook_. "What's he going to say? 'Oh, look! It's Zuko! Prince of the Fire Nation!' Who is going to believe him?"

She blushed and pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. "He wouldn't do _that_…but I don't think that he'll trust either of you. He's kind of…_protective_."


	16. A New Life

**Its pretty bad when an assignment for school says, "Bring back on Monday, or whenever we actually have school." Pretty baddd.**

**Living in Ba Sing Se is all that its cracked up to be, according to Emiko. But to her brother, seeing anyoneFire Nation just seems to take it all away!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. If I did, I would have so much fun!**

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**A New Life**

Zuko and Uncle were living in a beautiful multi-story residential complex in the Inner Ring. They lived on the third floor where Iroh was cooking at a stove, and Zuko was still asleep, stretching out in his luxurious bed. Their pleasant apartment was a vast improvement over the tenement in the Lower Ring. A medium-sized kitchen filled the right side of the complex, while a vast window took over the back wall. In front of it was a small table that served its purpose for morning tea. On the left were Iroh and Zuko's rooms, cut off with sliding doors.

Zuko, forcing himself up from his bed, stretched out and allowed a puff of flames to come from his hands. And, still groggy from sleep, he entered from his pleasant room. "What's that smell?" It was a scent of herbs and turkey strangely mixed, but it still smelled wonderful.

Uncle was stirring a thick white paste in a steaming pot. "Its _jook_," he told the Prince, doubt filling each word. "I'm sure you wouldn't like it."

Zuko leaned over the pot and smelt it, making Uncle step back. "Actually, it smells _delicious_," he complemented pleasantly. "I'd love a bowl, Uncle." The banished Prince picked up and held out a bowl as a knock sounded at the door.

The person didn't even wait for an answer before opening the door. "How are we in here?" Emiko asked, skipping into the room with a smile on her face.

After getting some of the jook, Zuko picked a flower out of the vase on the table and put it in her hair. "We are wonderful," he told her seductively, kissing her cheek.

Blushing, she laughed nervously and kissed him back, missing his tall cheek to accidentally kiss under his jaw. "…You're in a surprisingly good mood," she observed, averting her eyes to blush again.

He knew that _she_ knew what had happened. And surprisingly…she didn't seem horrified by it. Actually, she looked like she was _glowing_.

For once he could answer her straight out, and he used a finger to pick her chin back up to look him in the eyes. "Yes I am." And he meant it. "How do you feel?" He knew that she would be sore, perhaps achy, and she probably couldn't sit down easily.

She blushed and turned her eyes away from his. "F-fine."

Uncle turned suspicious after Zuko kissed her lips and she walked off. "Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow," he said as he ladled some soup into a bowl he'd gotten out for Emiko.

The Prince looked out the window to see the rising sun, its golden rays breaching new clouds in the morning sky. "It's a new day!" he cried optimistically. "We've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop!" He paused for a moment, his breath catching as he looked at Emiko's smile. "…Things are looking up, Uncle." Zuko moved to the table and knelt as he spoke, sipping from the bowl.

Iroh's concerned look melted into a pleased smile at his nephew's new attitude.

"Oh!" Emiko exclaimed after taking a sip of her bowl, almost spitting out the hot liquid. He noticed that she hadn't even tried to sit down, and she was gingerly favoring her right leg.

The Prince chuckled, though a pang went through his heart when he realized that he had hurt her. "It's hot," he reminded her in a chiding, laughing voice, but one filled with guilt as well.

She waved her hand as if the liquid was burning her tongue, but then she swallowed and took a deep breath. Giving a wry look to the man sitting across the room from her, she said, "Not _the soup_, Zuko…I just remembered something important."

Zuko looked at her with expectant eyes. Blushing, she was even more beautiful in the morning light. Her expensive new clothes seemed to fit her like she had owned them for her whole life. The front of it dipped down and left little to the imagination. The dress cut to accentuate her waist and hips. A choker wrapped around her small neck, while attached to the front of it was her mother's necklace.

_But not for long._

At the moment, she was staying in the smaller apartment below them, Quon having decided that it would be better to keep the young, hormonal teenagers apart. That didn't mean that he couldn't sneak into her room in the middle of the night and make her moan his name, though, or keep him from gently stripping off that new, expensive dress, and probably some kind of beautiful, exotic underwear that she'd picked up as well.

Emiko spoke and tore him from his thoughts, which was probably a good thing, as he was getting a little restless underneath the table. "My brother wants us to come over for dinner before we open the teashop."

Uncle nodded, seeming to think over it as he stroked his beard. "That can be arranged." But there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

She frowned, her eyes slightly emotionless as she stared down into her bowl. "He said he had something special to tell me. I can't figure it out, but I'm so worried that he'll figure out about you guys." Biting her lip, she looked out the window and kept a distant expression on her face. She sighed and ran her hand through her short, curly hair. "I have to tell him everything."

Uncle raised one of his eyebrows. "Everything?"

"He recognized you, Uncle. He'll recognize Zuko too!" She took a deep, shaky breath and tried to keep her emotions close, but it was difficult for her. Now that Zuko had made love to her, he felt as if he could recognize every emotion in her; she was panicking.

Uncle shook his head and smiled, stirring his _jook_. "What's he going to say? 'Oh, look! It's Zuko! Prince of the Fire Nation!' Who's going to believe him?"

She blushed and pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. "He wouldn't do _that_…but I don't think that he'll trust either of you. He's kind of…_protective_."

_**The Next Day...**_

I wasn't sure what time it was when I went to my brother's house, clenching Zuko's hand in mine, but it was before dinner time, so that I would have time to catch up with my brother in his new house. It was a magnificent three-story building, one that just he owned. Or so I thought. The architecture was beautiful, for an Earth Kingdom house, anyways. I'd always preferred Fire Nation buildings. There was something about the structures, the feeling of home, that made me like them more.

"Well," Quon said happily as he opened the door. My eyebrows must have shot straight to the sky. _What in Koh's name is Quon doing here?_ "If it isn't my daughter-in-law!"

I blinked and clenched Zuko's hand harder in mine. He somehow pulled away and placed his hand on the small of my back. For a moment, I couldn't speak. _Daughter-in-law? _"What?"

He got a guilty look on his face as if he were a child that got his hands caught in the cookie jar. "Well, uh… I guess you don't know that yet!"

I was still stuck on the _daughter-in-law_ part. "_What_?"

My brother walked up to the door suddenly, dressed in his finest. His long black hair was let loose around his waist, shining like silk in the lights inside of the beautiful, rich house. "Amaterasu!" He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Uncle and Zuko. "How are you?" he asked with exaggerated curiosity, and he was smiling so wide that I could almost see his wisdom teeth.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," I told him, pulling my arm away and glaring at the man. I knew that he wanted to talk to me about Iroh and Zuko, but it could wait until after dinner. Right?

His eyes bore into mine with questions and hurt. I didn't want to have to be the one to tell him. I really didn't. There were so many things… The Pirates, Jun, The Freedom Fighters, Isamu, _Father_…

Air blew out of my mouth again in a sigh. "Fine, _big brother_," I told him, my voice wavering and cracking. "I'll tell you. Uncle! Lee!"

They obediently followed to the door my brother held open for just me. Quon, behind us, seemed to have left. "Oh no they don't," Ryuu growled, putting his hand out against the frame to block them from entering.

I put my hands on my hips. I was in _no_ mood to put up with him. "They were with me while everything happened, so _yes_, they _do_! Er—are. They're going to talk, alright?"

He rubbed his temples, muttering something about '_women_' and held open the door for the three of us.

_**Ryuu**_

"Okay, here's the deal," Emiko said as she sat down on a box across from Ryuu, her face set in stern lines, "you will do _nothing_ when I tell you what you want to know."

Ryuu nodded reluctantly. His little sister had grown up quite a bit. And she looked so healthy that she was _glowing_. Her short black hair was curling around her oval face, which really wasn't so oval anymore, as she'd lost a lot of weight. She looked so grown up that his heart ached. Where had he been all those years? He'd been away, at school, in the military, and finally, in the Earth Kingdom, having abandoned the military.

He started thinking…maybe he didn't _want_ to know what had happened. As he looked over to the Prince of the Fire Nation and The Dragon of the West, he knew that something was up. There was no way that they were here just for the tea.

"Uncle, Lee, introduce yourselves," Emiko choked out, a break in her voice on '_Lee_.'

Reluctantly, '_Uncle'_ stood up and bowed. The man was old, obviously, and Ryuu already knew who he was. His hair had thinned almost completely on the top of his head, and his grey beard was much longer than military regulation. "I am General Iroh otherwise known as the Dragon of the West, brother to the Fire Lord."

Ryuu cringed in his seat, but said nothing as Emiko requested. _I knew it. _He was surprised, actually, that General Iroh had so much faith in her. For all he knew, Ryuu was an assassin sent from the Fire Lord himself! What the Abyss was the old General doing in the one place he'd lost everything? And he wasn't an assassin, anyways, but still. No one could be too cautious.

'_Lee_' just sat there, an unwilling expression on his face.

"Lee, come _on_!" Emiko pleaded, her eyes, which much reminded him much of his mother's, which used to be wide and beseeching. Beautiful, but pleading in a way that made you want to do whatever she said. When 'Lee' didn't move, she sat next to him and put her arms around his neck. "_Please_?"

Ryuu had to control himself not to burn the man to a crisp. He'd never been around her during her older years, and he did have to say that his little sister was very beautiful, but there was no reason that she had to show him that she'd grown up _this_ much. And there was no reason that she should be together with _this _scoundrel!

"_Please_?" she begged again, kissing under the man's jaw, intertwining her fingers into his.

Setting his chin, Ryuu made himself act like a stone statue and control his anger. There was plenty of time to destroy the scoundrel _later_.

Standing up grudgingly, Lee looked Ryuu directly in the eyes. Ryuu had to admit that his scar made him want to flinch, but he didn't. Actually, he wanted to strangle this man rather than flinch. "I am Zuko, _Prince_ of the Fire Nation."

Ryuu jolted out of his seat. He felt his anger rising, felt the fire inside of him building. He'd sworn never to use it again, but his mind was about to change! No longer would he bite his tongue! "How could you travel with these banished wannabes?" he shouted, feeling the steam come out of his nose.

Startled, Emiko shrunk back for a moment. Then, as the statement sunk in, she jumped up and got in his face. Or tried. She was still as short as the day she left. For a moment, that made him want to laugh, but the murderous look on her face forced him to think twice. "Did you forget that I was—_am_—a banished wannabe as well?"

Now it was her brother's turn to be startled. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in pain. "I…I just want you to be _safe_…"

She led him over to his seat and leaned down to put her hand on his shoulder. It reminded him of the time he'd first gotten into a fight with his father, and Mother had taken him aside and bandaged his wounds, putting a hand on his shoulder like Emiko was now. She was even using the same speaking voice. "I have two Firebenders with me," she whispered soothingly in his ear, though a little anger still rang through her voice. "Not to mention that I'm one too. How much safer could I be?"

He made himself clear his mind. Wiping all emotion from his face, he looked back up and rested his head on his hand, ignoring her question. Being in the military at least taught him how to hide his feelings from anyone he chose. Well, besides the one or two outbursts. Emiko backed away slowly, sitting back down in his seat. "So what happened to Jasmine?" he asked, trying to get his sister on a different subject.

She laughed grimly, her eyes set into betrayal. "Little Miss Assassin is out to kill us."

"Wonderful…" he sighed sarcastically. His first sister had always been the strange one. It would seem as if she would be the one to turn against the family.

Then something hit him, something harder than the pain that he knew that his little sister was grown up. He looked down to hide the hurt on his face. "I know this is a rough spot for you…but…what about _dad_?"

She exhaled slowly and looked down. He knew what had happened, even before she said anything about it. "…He's…_gone_…"

_Prince _Zuko pulled Emiko up against him and cradled her body. Ryuu watched him with loathing as he kissed her forehead and wiped the tear sliding down her cheek with his thumb.

The pain he felt for his father was worse than his protective side, though. "_What happened_?"

Ryuu was surprised when she kept composure as she told him everything. "Long ago, he figured out that the Moon Spirit was in our realm, and was able to be killed. He had this crazy idea…and killed it. The Avatar and the Ocean Spirit joined together and took out Dad's fleet. When it reached Dad, it took him with it…and that was it. Then Azula tried to tell me that you were in the Fire Nation and wanted me home and the Fire Lord wanted Zuko and Uncle home and she ended up calling us prisoners and we escaped and that was when I cut my hair and that was when Jasmine joined her and she attacked me and I got hurt and…!" She suddenly paused from her tirade. A slightly curious look was on her face, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "…And now we're here."

Zuko wiped away more of her tears and whispered soft things in her ears, petting down her hair in a way that was almost loving. Ryuu did have to say one thing about the scoundrel...he knew how to keep his sister calm.

"There's something you aren't telling me, though."

"Once he found me at the North Pole, he…" She started sobbing uncontrollably, and Ryuu felt slightly uncomfortable. He'd never been good with a woman's tears, and the fact that he'd caused them made it even worse.

Zuko stood up and hugged her against him, covering her ears, and glanced at Ryuu. "She's not ready to tell you this just yet. It's too soon."

Ryuu actually wanted the primal urge to growl at the Prince, but he stuck with gritting his teeth. "She's _my_ little sister, my _family_, not yours. I think I have a say in what happens."

"Oh? You want to know what happened then?" Zuko asked. There was no hint of anger in his voice, only affection and pain and love. "Zhao was going to force her to marry a man she hated."

Her brother didn't believe the Prince. "So who was this man?" he asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.

Zuko had to think for a moment, his brow angered. "His name was…_Isamu_, I think."

Ryuu flinched. Yeah, he remembered the Captain. But that didn't make any sense! "Zhao would never—"

Iroh stepped in between the two and shook his head. "We can talk about this later. In _private_. But for now, we need to worry about Emiko's well being." He took her from Zuko's arms and wrapped his own arm around her shoulders. "Let's go get you washed up now." Leading her out the door, he glared behind him at the two men. "_Behave_."

Zuko nodded and watched worriedly as Emiko was led away. Ryuu knew that his sister was grown up, but the look in the Prince's eyes put the last straw on his brotherly protection.

Grabbing Zuko by the collar, Ryuu pushed him up against the wall. The shock in the Prince's eyes surprised Emiko's brother to no ends, but he kept the boy up on the wall. "I'm only going to warn you once, _Lee_," he growled quietly, menacingly. "If you hurt my little sister, I'll—"

"Ryuu?" a familiar voice asked from outside the door. Wincing slightly, he quickly sat the Prince down. It wouldn't do for Naomi to find him being so hostile to the guests.

Glaring once more at the Prince, Ryuu straightened the 'guest's' collar. "I don't think I have to finish that sentence." Then he turned on his heels and left Zuko alone in the small storage room.

"I still haven't gotten to meet her yet," Naomi whispered, taking his hand.

Ryuu glanced at his wife and smiled warmly. "You will," he whispered as he brushed a kiss against her lips. "And you will love her."

_**Iroh**_

Iroh led Emiko out of the washroom and smiled to her, making her smile back nervously.

"I'm sorry about that back there, Uncle," she whispered, her smile faltering. "I…I have no idea what came over me."

The ex-General patted his daughter on the back and nodded his head. "It was simply the releasing of your pent-up emotions."

She shook her head back and forth, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself more. "I can't believe I showed that weakness to him, Uncle. He never _ever_ tolerated it when I was little. I doubt that he's changed." She rolled her head around, staring up at the ceiling.

"I am sorry to hear that. But…once you talk it out—"

"That's the _problem_!" she cried, stopping in her tracks to throw her hands in the air. "He doesn't _talk_! He wants the straight out answer and nothing else! He's a heartless egotistical maniac and…!" She paused and took a deep breath. He watched as her face slowly changed from agonized pain to a stranger emotion. A loving smile spread over her lips. "And he's my brother. My _only_ brother whom I happen to love very deeply, no matter what he said in a temper tantrum years ago."

Iroh smiled. But it was sad because…because he was _heartbroken_. Emiko had found someone who was even more family than the General was to her. So now…what? Was Emiko going to leave him forever?

"But…" she continued, grabbing Iroh's arm to stop him from walking away. She turned him around and pulled him close to her, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "No one will take you from my heart. You have been there for me more than anyone else, and for that I will love you forever."

Uncle had to choke back a cry of happiness. She was admitting something that he had already known deep down, but now it was tangible proof.

"So I'm egotistical, am I?" a voice asked with a chuckle from behind them.

Emiko gasped and turned around to face her brother, who was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "R-Ryuu, I-I-I…!"

A female, whispery chuckle came from behind him. "Don't worry," the voice it belonged to said as a woman appeared next to her brother. "That's not the first time someone's called him that."

_**Emiko**_

I gasped and my eyes widened. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and she was holding my brother's hand. I mean, I knew that Ryuu was attractive, but did he _deserve_ someone like her? She was perfect, flawless!

Suddenly I was self-conscious. I straightened my hair, seeing as hers was perfectly combed and flawless, and sucked in my stomach. Not that I had been gaining weight, but I had been eating a little more than usual since I was walled inside this huge city. Her waist was still tiny even with the giant bulge on her stomach. She had dark, chocolate brown hair. Her green eyes were the largest things on her face, but it was surprisingly pretty. As tall as she was, though, she only came to Ryuu's shoulders. So she was probably a good six inches above me. What had me staring, though, was the bulge on her stomach. She had to be at _least_ seven months pregnant! Her expensive clothing was stretching at the seams, but she didn't seem to notice. There was no excess weight on anything but her stomach and chest.

Behind her came Zuko, and she chuckled as she nodded to him. "Did you by any chance loose someone?"

Zuko rushed over to me and put a hand to my face, examining my eyes. "Are you okay?" he whispered hoarsely, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

I grabbed his wrist gently and smiled. Then I glanced over his shoulder at the woman. Then, looking back to him, I took his hand from my face into mine and nodded. "Of course."

A stern look crossed his face. "We'll talk later."

"But—"

He was determined in what he wanted. "Later."

Sighing, I decided to figure out why my brother was making goo-goo eyes at the prego lady. Right as I opened my mouth to ask why, I saw the betrothal necklace on her throat. It was a gold and black scorpion carved into a greenish-grey stone Eyes widening, I figured it out.

My brother was married and I was about to be an aunt.

I quickly glanced at him, a horrified look coming over my face. "You _didn't_." Wrong pictures filled my head and I tried not to puke. _EWWWWW, NOOO!_

Smiling sheepishly, he led her over to me. "Amaterasu, meet Naomi."

"Hello, _cousin_!" My teeth were clenched. She had to be. If she wasn't then…_oh Spirits!_ "Please tell me she's our cousin…!" I begged quietly, leaning over to my brother.

"Hello, Amaterasu," she greeted intensely, quietly. A small smile spread over her lips. "I would bow, but as you see I'm not able to do that at the moment."

Ignoring her, I pulled on my brother's shirtsleeve, fighting back the bad feeling in my stomach. "What's her _family name_?"

He laughed and put his arm around the both of us. "Amaterasu, this is your sister-in-law!"

I put my hand over my mouth to keep down the bile rising in my throat. "This is _so _wrong on _so_ many levels…" My brother wasn't supposed to get married. Or have children. He was supposed to live a life of solitude in the military and… _Oh GROSS!_

Zuko, Uncle, Ryuu, and Naomi laughed while I took it all in. Glaring at them, I made sure not to look at the large lump on my _sister-in-law's _stomach.

_Well **you **all are in great moods… _I thought bitterly.

Naomi put her hand on my shoulder. "Your brother is a great man, one that I don't really deserve. I'm honored to be related to both of you and to bear his child."

I flinched. Pictures filled my mind again and I gagged. "_So_ _wrong_!"

She laughed and hugged me gently to her side. "Oh, Ryuu, your little sister is _adorable_. I don't even know her all that well and I'm already in love with her."

Ryuu smiled affectionately at her. "I knew you would be." Taking her hand in his, he led her away to the dining room. Or hall, as it turned out to be.

But I turned pleading eyes up to my Uncle instead of following them. "Oh… Spirits…" He chuckled. "The mental pictures I now have will scar me for _life_."

Zuko laughed out loud. "He's your _brother_. Don't you want him to be happy?"

"_Yes_ I want him to be happy," I scoffed as he took my hand to lead me away. "But does he have to keep his happiness around _me_?" I gagged again, making him squeeze my hand in amusement.

_**Dinner**_

Everything was…awkward. It had been over three years since I had sat down at a table to eat dinner, and now I was in expensive clothing _and _surrounded by family. I know they expected me to show manners, but I had no _idea_ why I had three forks and two spoons. Did they _expect_ me to drop something?

When the salad came out, I guess I picked up the right fork because Ryuu exhaled in relief.

I blushed as Zuko kept staring at me like Ryuu stared at Naomi. It still made me gag to watch the lovebirds stare into each other's eyes like that. Didn't they know they had guests? Didn't Zuko know that my brother would kill him first chance he got if the Prince kept looking at me like that?

Well instead of staring back at my Prince, I blushed scarlet the whole time and kept my eyes adverted on my plate. It felt like I had whenever Zuko had first initiated our kiss that had led to...well, you know, _that._ I refused to call it what it was. Not that I regretted it. No! Of course not! I'd loved almost every moment of it. Well, except the slight pain and the strange surprise that he'd said he'd loved me. But I still didn't know if I could believe it or not. _He'd been in pain, for Agni's sake... _Ever since I woke up to find Zuko gone out of the apartment, I don't know why he made me blush every time I looked at him. One thing was for sure, I—

I blushed even redder as the main course came out, and suddenly I wasn't even the least bit hungry. Actually, I was a little nauseated. Pushing back from the table, I quickly scrambled to my feet. I bowed apologetically, stiffly. "I-I'm sorry, Quon, Naomi, Ryuu. I-I need to get some fresh air."

Yeah. I needed fresh air, that's all it was. As I quickly made my way to the back of the house, I found a set of double doors that I quickly threw open. Behind the house in hills of rolling colors was the most beautiful garden I had ever seen. It was a maze, actually. And I made useful of it and got myself lost inside.

There was no _way_ that I was in love. Not yet. This was the fairytale ending I pictured when I was little, but _nothing_ I wished for when I was little ever came true. _So why now? _What did the Spirits have in mind for me _this_ time? Were they trying to prove a point, or was this another lesson that they wanted to teach me?

All I knew was that I didn't want to lose someone else that I cared about. Especially if I loved him like I thought I loved him.

_**Naomi**_

Naomi was watching Emiko the whole time, watching with confusion as some unknown turmoil broke her down. She knew something was up as she did, and now she knew why. Not to mention the fact that Emiko and Ryuu looked nothing alike! Other than the black hair and pale complexion, they were completely opposite. Their faces were similar, but not enough to match them as relatives. Emiko had a short forehead, Ryuu high. Emiko had a round chin—no definition at all—while Ryuu's chin was square muscular. Even the build of their bones were different. Of course she knew that Ryuu was Fire Nation. But that didn't stop her from loving him. Did that mean that Emiko was one as well?

Once Emiko sat down on one of the maze's benches, Ryuu's wife stepped up behind her. _There's no way…_ "I know that look."

Emiko's back stiffened and she didn't even bother to turn around as she answered, "What look?"

Nodding, Naomi sat down next to her sister-in-law. "Oh how do I know that look…that's what I looked like when I met your brother."

Emiko gagged and turned away from looking at her. "I'm sorry, but the brother I knew went to detention camp for three years."

She laughed again. "Oh, don't worry…he's already told us about that." _That and then some_.

"Really?" Ryuu's sister asked, nervousness creeping up her backbone. She was wondering how much Naomi knew. "That's _interesting_." She clenched her teeth on the last word.

Knowing that Emiko was getting angry with her brother when he wasn't even there, Naomi changed the subject. And she changed it back to the one thing that Emiko wanted to avoid. "You're in love."

Startled, the girl looked up to Ryuu's wife with wide eyes. "I…I-I—" Then she looked down at her feet with a slight smile on her face and blushed. "…Is it that obvious?"

Putting her arm around the girl, Naomi shook her head, winking to give the lie more effect. "No, it's not. Women just have that sense." Yeah, it was obvious. Even Ryuu could see through it and he was an oblivious fool!

_Whom you happen to love very much,_ her mind chided, making her smile.

Emiko sighed dejectedly. "Ryuu doesn't trust him…" she whispered, barely audible. Her body closed in on itself as if she was afraid of her own brother. "Lee really is a great guy, I swear."

She listened intently for more, but the girl didn't say anything else. She was hiding something…but Naomi wasn't going to force it out of her. "Have you told him…?"

The girl shook her head, then suddenly stopped, a confused look on her face. But then she started shaking her head again. "I…I don't know how he feels yet."

Naomi shook her head as well. "That's exactly how I was until Ryuu asked me to marry him. We've been married for two years now."

Emiko was mortally shocked. "Two _years_?"

She nodded. "My father—Quon—was going to force me to marry at 16 unless I found someone. One time when he took me to the Lower Ring, I saw your brother. He was singing a song and playing a weird guitar instrument. It was love at first sight." Naomi didn't know it, but she had a loving look spread over her face. "Now look at me, I'm five months pregnant and as happy as can be."

"…Five months pregnant?"

"Yes, why?"

"You said _five_ months, right?"

"…Is that a problem?"

Emiko gaped, her mouth wide open. "Are you having _triplets_ or something? I could've sworn you were almost eight months along!"

She shrugged. "What difference will two more babies make? We'll be a happy family." Naomi paused for a moment and glanced at Emiko. "So are you planning on having children any time soon?"

The question made Emiko smile and shake her head, chuckling under her breath. "No, no. I don't think we'll be ready for kids for a _lo-ong _while." Naomi could see the love on her face, true and blue. It wasn't hard to decipher when she talked about her boyfriend.

"How come?" Naomi asked, finally happy that Emiko was talking on her own accords and she didn't have to force it out of her husband's sister.

"Well, we will have to work on being _married _first. Maybe after a year or two we'll ponder it."

Naomi nodded seriously. "Good. You're only sixteen and, what, seventeen?" When Emiko said yes, Naomi continued. "You are too young. Give it time, alright? Promise me that."

She laughed, her bell-like tone echoing across the garden. "Well—"

"Amaterasu!" Zuko called, interrupting her answer. "Are you coming?"

Emiko perked up, an excited smile on her lips like a child who got her first pony. "Coming!" Then she glanced back and Naomi with an apologetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry, Naomi. We were talking and I—"

"Don't worry about it," Naomi assured her. She waved her hand and stood up with some difficulty. "Go ahead. Just make sure that we can talk sometime later, okay?"

Smiling, she nodded and ran off. Naomi followed after her and ended up hearing the last of the conversation.

Zuko laughed at Emiko, ruffling her hair as she put her hand in the crook of his arm. "Are you ready to go _now_?" he asked seductively, stealing a kiss below her ear.

"Already?" she asked sadly, her voice a quiet murmur. "I was just getting to know Naomi."

The man smiled lovingly and started to walk away with her. "We can come over tomorrow," he told her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Promise?"

He nodded and pulled her closer, putting his forehead to hers. "_Promise_."

_**Ryuu**_

Ryuu Zhao stood in the doorway, scowling at Zuko. Steam came out of his nose as his sister kissed the man at the end of the driveway, and he wanted to strangle the banished Fire Nation Prince.

Naomi walked up behind him just as he started ranting, standing with her hands lying on top of her large stomach. "How could that girl like him, damn it? That boy is a no good, dirty rotten scoundrel!"

Naomi sat him down and pulled him with her. She placed her hands on his tense shoulders and massaged his back. "He's no boy, and your sister is no girl. They are _both_ grown adults."

Ryuu rubbed his temples angrily. He didn't want to listen to her. Well, he _wanted_ to listen to his wife, but he _didn't_ want to listen to her logic. He loved her, but the way she thought sometimes was—

"And," Naomi continued, interrupting his thoughts, "they're in love."

Ryuu's eyes opened in surprise. Had it amounted to that? _Already_? Ryuu clenched his eyes closed and shook his head back and forth in disbelief. She cupped his face in her hand and turned him around to look at her. He shifted his body so he could wrap his arms around her upper-waist, and then she kissed him softly.

"…like _we_ are in love," she concluded in a whisper.

Stiffly, Ryuu removed his arms from around her and turned away, rubbing his forehead resentfully. He muttered under his breath irritably. He loved his wife to no ends. She was carrying his son and his heart.

But if _Emiko_ had a child with that…that…

He couldn't even think about it. If she did, then the child would be the Prince or Princess of the Fire Nation. But if she was having…_Spirits, I will kill that boy if he ever touches her again._

Naomi huffed, her hands going to her hips in irritation. "Why don't you trust him?"

Ryuu gritted his teeth. Naomi was almost never started a fight unless she was all out for it. "In our old town, he had a…_reputation_. He was banished and became an outcast."

Naomi snorted in amusement. "Is that _it_? You went to detention camp for three years and destroyed a whole village. Why can't you just accept that your little sister isn't _little_ anymore?"

Ryuu Zhao shook his head and put his arm around his wife. "I don't ever want to see her get hurt," he whispered as he kissed the hollow below her ear. "And with that guy…_she_ _will_."

_**Emiko**_

We walked up the short stairs that lead to Uncle's teashop, past a bubbling fountain. Inside the opulent structure we oversaw the operations. In the very back of the building was a large kitchen, big enough to hold enough tea-makers that we could fill Ba-Sing-Se with the sweet scent of tea. There was even a large oven and stove for whatever I planned on making! The giant restaurant was filled with tables, one grand strip of floor leading back to the kitchen. Carpet was on either side of the strip, but it looked just as expensive as everything else.

Tears filled my eyes as I looked at what would be our future. Everything was turning out just the way I had pictured when I was younger, and yeah, maybe it _was_ fair. Maybe this wasn't a test. Maybe it was my life, the way it was supposed to be.

Maybe for once the Spirits were going to give me something I deserved.

"Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, I'd end up owning my own tea shop?" Iroh asked with a content sight. "Follow your passions Zuko, Emiko, and life will reward you."

I smiled and pulled out from under Zuko's arm to hug Uncle. "Congratulations Uncle." I loved the way he felt when I hugged him, and the warmth that he gave out.

"I'm very thankful," he said into my hair, acting very modest even though he knew that he deserved it.

"You deserve it," Zuko said confidently, truthfully, which made me laugh, because that had been exactly what I'd been thinking. You could even see it in his eyes. "The Jasmine Dragon will be the best teashop in the city."

"No," Uncle said, shaking his head. "I'm thankful because you two decided to share this special day with me." He put his arms over our shoulders. "It means more than you know.

Zuko and I gave him a warm hug, to his surprise. Uncle choked back tears of happiness, and Zuko knew how to save his pride. "Now let's make these people some tea!" the Prince cried enthusiastically.

"Yes! Let's make some tea!" Uncle said eagerly, shaking his head back and forth to get rid of any tears that might've wanted to make their way down his face.

Kissing me on the cheek, Zuko went back to the kitchen to get his apron. Just thinking about him, one year earlier, in an apron, made me want to laugh but I couldn't. I started to move to follow him, but Uncle stopped me. "Oh no you don't!"

This surprised me. "But Uncle, I need to make the rice cakes and help with the tea and start getting ready for the customers and straighten up this room and make sure all of the ingredients for the tea are out and…!" My mind was spinning from all of the things I needed to do.

He shook his head and handed me a key. "Emiko, I was telling Quon about your cooking." As tears welled in my eyes, my brain forced me to listen. But I couldn't. I already knew what he was going to say. I took the three-pronged key from him and glanced at it. Shaped in a heart, it was barely big enough to cover the center of my hand. The key opened a door in the complex next to Iroh's that led to a bakery.

Before I knew it I was flying through the space between us into his arms. I dug my head down into his chest and cried. "Thank you, Uncle! I love you so much!"

He smiled lovingly and hugged me back.

_**Later, that Night...**_

Inside the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko was sweeping up for the evening. As Iroh cleared a table, a man entered and walked up to the ex-General. "A message from the royal palace," the man said as he bowed and handed a scroll to Iroh, who read it with a look of worry.

His eyes widened with astonishment. "I...I can't believe it…" he gasped, overcome.

Zuko and I walked over, but he made it there first. "What is it Uncle?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

Uncle was elated. "Great news! We've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!" he cried as he ran off excitedly towards the rear of the teahouse. Zuko watched him go with a smile, then resumed sweeping as I kissed his cheek.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" I asked softly, wrapping my arm around his waist. He shook his head and hugged me to his side, slowly running his hand up and down my arm. "Then the Spirits must really be on our side for once."

"Finally."

I smiled up to him and leaned up, wondering if this kiss would once more turn into something else once again...

* * *

**Hmm...what did all of you think about Emiko's brother? Tell me, I want to know!**

**Here's a look at the next chapter!**

"Come on!" he called to us. "You'll be fine."

"No!" Zuko called back down, right when I was about to jump to safety. "I'm tired of running. It's time I faced Azula!" He started moving me to the edge, getting ready to drop me down, but I knew that I couldn't leave without him, especially if he was going to fight Azula. I had to be there for him, even if I couldn't fight with fire. There were other ways I could help.

"I'm not leaving you," I said, grasping his hand and stepping away from the ledge. I met his shocked topaz eyes and gave his hand a squeeze. "I want to help."

He looked as if he wanted to touch his fingertips to my cheek, but he held his hand by his side. "This isn't your fight."

"Your fight _is_ my fight," I told him, stopping him from trying to push me forwards. "I'm not leaving you." Zuko put his hands on the side of my face and pulled my lips to his in a forceful, wrong-feeling kiss. I wanted to pull away, but something inside of me told me that he needed this, and I knew that I needed it too, especially since he was going to force me to leave and I probably wouldn't see him for a while.

He suddenly pulled away and pushed me toward the hole in the wall. Behind him I saw Azula smile. "No, no, no!" I sobbed, trying to turn around and help. "Zuko, I—!" I was interrupted by my falling out the side of the building and landing in Uncle's arms. "Zuko!"

Zuko turned around—ignoring me—and walked back into the building, out of my sight.


	17. The End?

**The End? At least for Part II! This chapter, plus an epilogue, end Part II of my series! But I"m not going to create another story, I'll just keep adding to this one, if you guys are okay with that! Part III is officially named "The Beginning of the End." I'll post the Epilogue sometime early this week, and post Ch. 18 on time, like every week!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. If I did, I would not have had to get a job at McDonalds.**

**Oh! And I now have a job at McDonalds, which means that I have MUCH less time to type! I'll always try to update, though!**

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**The End?**

Life in the past month had been amazing. Zuko and I had grown closer each day, and he treated me as if I were the most precious jewel in the world. I'd never felt so beautiful or wanted. And the way he made love...

I blushed as the thoughts ran through my mind. _This isn't the time to be thinking of that,_ I thought, scolding myself. We were just getting out of the carriage to go into the palace, which was so large, so magnificent, that I couldn't imagine it being taken over by the Fire Nation. Just thinking about a Fire Nation Official sitting inside of this magnificent building, ruling over this magnificent city, made me slightly sick. I loved Uncle, but I didn't think that he was meant to take over this peaceful, gorgeous building.

"Many times, I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace…" Iroh said softly, the wind blowing his thick grey hair gently. His eyes were squinted, as if he were trying to see something. But all he really needed to see were Zuko, the teabox in his hands, and me. "But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror. Instead, we are the Earth Kings personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."

Zuko smiled cheerfully, and I noticed as he patted his robes gently. "It sure is Uncle," he said just as softly, looking at me and gently taking my hand. "It sure is…"

I almost skipped up to the doors, I was so excited to see the inside of this buulding, but Zuko's hand kept me from it. I sighed. "You know I hate waiting to know something," I grumbled irritably, leaning against him. "Why can't you tell me what you're going to give me?" Earlier that morning, he had told me that after we were done serving tea, I would get a gift that I would love.

He shook his head and laughed, taking my umbrella from me playfully. "It's a surprise!"

I set my jaw and reached for it but he pulled it away. "You know, I'm starting to hate surprises even more!"

He shook his head and pulled his hand away from mine, teasing me with the fact that he was taller than me. "I think you'll love this one."

"Zuko, give me back my umbrella!" I giggled, reaching up to take it from him. He held it above my height and smiled teasingly, daring me to seize it.

I jumped up and grabbed the handle of it, pulling it down. Zuko maneuvered it just right to where it hid us both and then he touched his smiling lips to mine. I giggled and tried to push away, but he grabbed me back and playfully kissed me.

"_Zuko_!" I giggled when he held me closer. "We're in _public_!"

He smiled evilly. "All the more reason for me to flaunt you off."

"Enough, you two," Iroh chuckled, a twinkle of knowing in his eyes. "We have a job to do, remember?" He took the umbrella from me and laughed heartily as we both blushed. "Now come on. Let's serve some tea!"

_**Inside...**_

The place where we went was a large, decorated house on the palace grounds, surrounded by shrubbery. The room was ornate, but not as much as I would have thought for a tea room. Maybe the king didn't enjoy tea as much as he should have, I didn't know. We were sitting patiently at a table, while before us was a small throne set on a raised platform. Well, _I _was patient. Zuko was getting a little fidgety.

Iroh poured a cup of tea as we waited for the Earth King to arrive. "I can't believe it. I truly can't."

I placed my hand on his and smiled lovingly. "Believe it." He deserved everything he got. Ever since the Siege of Ba Sing Se, Uncle had been cheated out of all that was rightfully his: his son, his throne, his kingdom…

Everything.

But now karma was making its way back around the timeline and back to The Dragon of the West, General Iroh. No…Uncle. Uncle Iroh was getting it back. He had no more need for those names.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked impatiently, fidgeting with his new, high-society clothing. I loved them on him, but then again, I loved him with anything on. Koh, he could be wearing nothing and I— _Oh, stop that, you._

"Maybe the Earth King overslept," Uncle hypothesized, taking a sip of his tea.

I took that as a probable cause and reached under the table, taking a hold of Zuko's hand. But it was rigid. I looked at him, feeling confusion rise up in me, but he wouldn't look at me. That was when I noticed that Several Dai Li agents had walked into the room, and they started forming a circle around us. "Something's not right…" Zuko said to me softly, slowly removing his hand from mine.

How do you describe something that happened at the worst possible time? Well, whatever the word was, it was happening right then. Because someone in Fire Nation garb walked into the room. I instantly tensed, but the familiar female face that sometimes haunted my dreams only smirked. "Its tea time," she said simply, her evil red lips in an evil smile.

Zuko instantly jumped to his feet, the room rising in temperature a few degrees. _"Azula!"_

I set my jaw, trying not to cry. _No, no, this can't be happening... Damn it! I knew I should have killed her when I had the chance!_ I felt myself starting to panic as the Dai Li started coming closer and Iroh went rigid beside me.

"Have you met the Dai Li?" she asked asked in her dark, sultry voice that made my insides squirm with disgust. The three of us didn't mutter a word, but she kept on anyways, as if we had. "They're Earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that is so Firebender. I just love it!"

Iroh took the cup he poured and stood up beside Zuko. "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname the 'Dragon of the West'?" _Uncle! What in Koh's name does that have to do with anything? Azula is standing in front of us right now!_ I wanted to stand up too, but I was too scared to do anything. I was surrounded by benders, and even though I was one, I couldn't bend at the moment.

Azula examined her nails as if she could really care less in what her wise Uncle was saying. "I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle."

"It's more of a demonstration really."

Iroh took a sip of his tea. Zuko looked at his uncle and smirked, though I wasn't sure what they were smiling about—

Suddenly, he ducked behind Iroh and covered me just before the ex-General entered a Firebending stance, opened his mouth, and breathed a powerful torrent of fire at the Dai Li, like a dragon. The agents lowered their heads and lifted their gloved hands to shield themselves. I grasped Zuko's body in fear, trying to hold onto him for dear life. He wouldn't let me cower, though, and he roughly grabbed me around the waist and darted towards the wall. He kicked out a blazing blast of fire, breaking through it, and then he started running down the hall, myself in tow. Iroh followed quickly after, still breathing fire at the Dai Li before catching up. Two Dai Li agents came through the hole in the wall and began firing the small, finger pieces of their rock gloves like bullets with swift thrusts of their hands. The stone bullets barely missed us and embedded themselves in the wall.

Not that I was paying attention. I just really wanted to run for my life, which was rather difficult since Zuko wouldn't let me go. I guess you have to pay attention when a lightning bolt shoots past you and breaks through the wall in front of you, though. Iroh ran ahead of us a moment after, jumping through the hole to the safety of the ground. Zuko pulled us to a stop before we fell through, and we looked down on Iroh.

He was holding his head in pain. "Come on!" he called to us. "You'll be fine."

"No!" Zuko called back down, right when I was about to jump to safety. "I'm tired of running. It's time I faced Azula!" He started moving me to the edge, getting ready to drop me down, but I knew that I couldn't leave without him, especially if he was going to fight Azula. I had to be there for him, even if I couldn't fight with fire. There were other ways I could help.

"I'm not leaving you," I said, grasping his hand and stepping away from the ledge. I met his shocked topaz eyes and gave his hand a squeeze. "I want to help."

He looked as if he wanted to touch his fingertips to my cheek, but he held his hand by his side. "This isn't your fight."

"Your fight _is_ my fight," I told him, stopping him from trying to push me forwards. "I'm not leaving you." Zuko put his hands on the side of my face and pulled my lips to his in a forceful, wrong-feeling kiss. I wanted to pull away, but something inside of me told me that he needed this, and I knew that I needed it too, especially since he was going to force me to leave and I probably wouldn't see him for a while.

He suddenly pulled away and pushed me toward the hole in the wall. Behind him I saw Azula smile. "No, no, no!" I sobbed, trying to turn around and help. "Zuko, I—!" I was interrupted by my falling out the side of the building and landing in Uncle's arms. "Zuko!"

Zuko turned around—ignoring me—and walked back into the building, out of my sight.

_**Emiko**_

"Oh my Agni, oh my Agni, what are we going to do?" _We can't just hold this Dai Li agent! Oh Agni, what are we doing?_

Iroh kept us moving at a rapid pace through the city until we were far enough away from the capital building. But he still kept us going. Especially when we'd been attacked by a Dai Li agent and had kidnapped him! "Calm down, child. I've got a plan."

"How did she get here?" I asked, taking my arm from his. He'd been pulling both the 'hostage' and me along the entire time, but now I thought that I was composed enough to walk myself. "This is the stronghold of the Earth Kingdom! Even _you_ couldn't break through its walls! And now _the Princess of the Fire Nation is here_!" It then occurred to me that my sister, Ty Lee, and Mai were there as well. That only made me freak out even more.

"Emiko!" he shouted, bringing us to a halt. I blinked as I looked at his stern face, wondering if I'd ever really heard him yell at me. "I told you, I have a plan." He then gently grasped my hand, pulling me to stand next to him. "Do not worry. He's strong, he's been through worse that what Azula can do to him."

"But Uncle—"

"No. I will hear no more of this." He slowly started pulling me along again, and then he stopped in a rich suburb around the tea shop. He looked around, as if trying to find the right house, and he pulled up to one of the homes that looked exactly like the others. "We are going to ask for help."

"Who could help us in this Agni-forsaken city?" I asked, trying to take comfort from his hand but failing miserably.

"You will see." Then he knocked on the door. I heard an excited gasp, and a the voice of a small girl. When the door opened, I was looking into the face of a very familiar friend. Her light green eyes were filled with amusement, even though I knew that she couldn't see.

"Hey," she said simply, waving at us.

The boy who I knew as Sokka was red in the face from surprise. In any other instance I would have laughed, but when tear stains were on my face and it was this bad, I knew that I couldn't. "You guys _know_ each other?" It was too bad I'd never met him. I mean _really_ met him. From what Toph had said, he was a pretty funny guy.

"I met them in the woods once and knocked them down," Toph said with a blind smile. "Then they gave me tea and very good advice!"

"May we come in?" I asked, hating the fact that my voice was shaky. For some reason, I knew that something was going to go wrong. Either Zuko would get hurt, or I would, or someone who I loved would. And I really didn't want that.

Toph let us in, to the dismay of Sokka. Aang was alright with me, and I wasn't sure if he was okay with Uncle, but he didn't say anything. "What's up?" she asked, and I just wanted to hug her.

I tried to tell her, tried to open my mouth, but I could only manage a sob. All I could think about was the past two months, how much he'd changed, how much we'd both been through. I had thought that I'd been safe, that _we'd_ been safe, but I'd been wrong. The Spirits had betrayed me yet again.

Iroh must have noticed that I couldn't speak, so he did for me. "I have grave news. Princess Azula is here, in Ba Sing Se."

"She must have Katara!" Aang cried, and I could tell from the way his face was in pain that he deeply cared for her. Again, I'd never really met her, but I felt as if I knew Aang, and so I instantly felt for him as well. All of this feeling was making my head spin, and all I wanted to do was cry, which wasn't really like me.

"She has captured my nephew as well."

It was silent for a moment as these statements set in. I could only imagine Zuko with Azula, hurt or possibly worse, and for some reason it felt like my fault. I hadn't stayed with him, and— _Aang, Aang is talking...what is he saying?_ "...we'll work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko."

"Whoa there…" Sokka said, waving his hands back and forth. "You lost me at, '_Zuko_.'"

I looked up at the Water Tribe teen, wondering why I hadn't really looked at him before. He was handsome, with gorgeous dark skin and the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. Just like Zuko, though, his mind seemed to be closed to anything new. "Please. Don't think like that. He really has changed. There's good inside him now." _I know that there is. He couldn't have told me he loved me if there wasn't. He couldn't have _made_ love to me if there wasn't!_ I put my hand on Sokka's shoulder, wondering why that hand was shaking.

"Good inside of him isn't enough." He picked my hand up as if it were something disgusting and threw it to the side. "Why don't you come back when it's _outside_ him too, okay?"

"Katara is in trouble, Sokka," Aang said, and I thanked Agni that he was here in this dispute. "All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble! Working together is our best chance."

Sokka closed his eyes, and for a moment I thought that he wouldn't say yes, that he wouldn't agree to help. But then he nodded, his jaw set in anger. I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding, looking over at Aang who was smiling.

"We brought someone along who might be able to help us," Uncle said, and I instantly sobered. I'd totally forgotten about the Dai Li agent. And, now that I had a solid plan, I wasn't panicking as much. I could think straight and I could breathe. Why I'd acted so panicky and like a little crying girl, I wasn't sure, but I was feeling a little silly at the moment. Why had I lost my head?

Uncle and I headed back outside and the others followed. A bounded and gagged Dai Li agent was sitting on the porch where we'd left him. Toph lifted him up by Earthbending two stone slabs on either side of him. Uncle pulled down the cloth over his face, and the agent talked. "Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup. They're going to overthrow the Earth King."

"My sister! Where are they keeping Katara?" Sokka asked angrily, pointing his machete at the Dai Li agent.

"In the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace."

_**Later...**_

Toph had her hand placed on the ground. "Well what do ya know…there _is_ an ancient city down there, but it's deep." She waved her fists outward, Earthbending a crater in the ground that was large enough for all of us to walk through. I felt a little sickened, thinking that I would have to walk through that, but I made myself stay calm for Zuko. He might be hurt down there, and I needed to be able to keep my calm.

"We should split up," Sokka said, though for some reason I felt as if he wanted to be rid of the Firebenders. "Aang, you go with Iroh and Emiko to look for Katara and the angry jerk…no offense."

"None taken," Iroh said with a shrug.

Unlike Iroh, I actually felt my anger prickle. "_Some_ taken…" I mumbled under my breath. They ignored me, but the girl snickered.

"…and I'll go with Toph to warn the Earth King about Azula's coup."

Momo jumped on Sokka's shoulder as Aang, Uncle and I walked deep underground. Aang was tunneling down using his Earthbending and Uncle was lighting the way with a flame cupped in his hands. I felt slightly useless, and there wasn't anything else that I could do to help, either. I couldn't even offer up a good conversation. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between us until Aang decided to break the ice. "Toph thinks you're good friends. You give good advice. And great tea!"

I laughed, and Uncle looked at the boy with his wizened eyes. "The key to both is proper aging."

"What's on your mind?" I asked, glad that there was finally _something_ I could do. I could definitely talk to him. At least it kept Zuko off of my mind, and what was wrong with him.

Aang paused for a second to deepen the tunnel with an Earthbending move before continuing. "Well, I met with this Guru who was supposed to help me master the Avatar State, and control this great power. But to do it, I had to let go of someone I love, and I just couldn't."

"Perfection and power are overrated," Iroh said simply, and I had to agree with him.

"I think it was a good choice. To choose happiness and love over power? To some, it may be a hard decision. But to one who is pure of heart and mind know that the first two are what you really need to live." I wondered if that sounded right. Koh, I wondered if I should be giving him advice at all! I was a Spirit talking to the Avatar, what did I know?

We stopped again and Aang pushed back the Earth with a wave of his arms. _If only life were that simple...pushing, moving things with the earth, making a simple living. The only thing that I could do with my bending, if I even _had_ it, would be to destroy..._ Aang was worrying just as much as I was, though. "What happens if we can't save everyone and beat Azula? Without the Avatar State, what if I am not powerful enough?"

Uncle shook his head. "I don't know the answer. Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving…"

We were at one last wall of rocks. Aang pushed both arms forward, Earthbending the rocks out of the way. A green light shone through. I smiled as the flames in our hands extinguished and the green light washed over the three of us.

We walked forward and entered the crystal catacombs. "And you'll come to a better place," I whispered, barely able to speak for the beauty. The catacombs were full of glowing green crystals, stalagmites and stalactites. In the back of the area was a waterfall pouring into a channel forming two rectangles around several thick, jagged columns. The air was crisp and clear, and for a moment I almost forgot that I was under the earth. _Almost. _"Still beautiful, though..." But, at that exact moment, I saw something even more beautiful. Zuko was standing right there, Katara in front of him, her hand on his face, on his scar. For a moment, I was upset, I was jealous that Katara was able to touch his scar, barely knowing him, and it had taken me months, almost the entire year and a half that I had known him, to touch it. "Zuko!" I shouted, thought I don't remember if it was a scolding shout or a happy one.

"Aang!" Katara cried, as soon as she took her hands off of _my_ boyfriend, and took Aang into her arms when he went running. I was right there, hugging Zuko, holding him as close as I could. I vowed right then that I would never let him go again.

"Emiko," he said softly, digging his face into my neck. I reveled in his touch, glaring at Katara over my shoulder. _See?_ I thought jealously, gently running my hands up and down his back, _he's mine. I can touch him all I want._ I shivered when he planted a gentle kiss under my ear, gently cupping my face and planting the same, soft kiss on my lips. "I...I don't understand. What are you..." He took a deep breath and pointed his finger angrily at Aang. "Why in Koh's name are you with the Avatar?"

"Saving you, that's what!" Aang countered, holding onto Katara protectively.

Zuko snarled and tried to lunge at him, but I grasped his arms, holding him steadfast in his place. Well, maybe _I_ wasn't, but Iroh was there, and he was holding him too. "Zuko," he said, his voice gravely serious, "I think it's time we talked."

Still keeping a hold on Zuko's arm, I turned and looked into the irritated grey eyes of the Avatar. "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you."

Aang clasped his hands and bowed respectfully to Uncle and me before running back through the hole in the cave. Katara slowly followed after him. She turned her head and took one last sad glimpse at a sullen Zuko before exiting. _Little green monster, you just keep showing your color, don't you?_ Oooh, I was verging on green.

Zuko turned his head away from me, even pulling away from me in what I thought was disgust. "Why?"

"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko," Iroh said sullenly, his eyes full of wisdom and a deep, etched sorrow. "You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose."

I reached forwards again, and this time he allowed me to take his hands into mine. "And this time, you have to choose good."

Zuko shut his eyes, absorbing his our words. I knew that he had a long road ahead of him, and that this would be very difficult for him. But if he wasn't good, then he couldn't love me...he couldn't have _made_ love to me. And, just as I was feeling those shakes of pleasure, they started to feel real, like the earth was actually shaking...

_Wait...the earth IS actually shaking!_ Before he could process this wisdom, we were all startled by a violent quake. A trail of crystals shot out of the ground until they reached Iroh, trapping him. I willed my hands to create fire, but a second trail approached and attached itself to me before throwing me against a wall and attaching me to it. Zuko readied himself for an attack, but strangely, he wasn't attacked by the rocks. Azula and two Dai Li agents slid down from a tunnel, looking grave. Azula advanced towards Zuko until he was in the middle of a triangle including Uncle, his sister, and me.

I'd never noticed how much they'd looked alike, but they really did. There was a distinctive curve tot heir eyes, to the stubborn tilt of their chins. "I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," Azula told him, her voice dangerously low, the way Zuko's got whenever he got angry. "But Zuko, _Prince_ Zuko…you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"

"Release them immediately!" Zuko yelled at his sister menacingly, his eyes meeting mine for only a moment. I recognized panic, and strangely..._fear._

"It's not too late for you Zuko," Azula said, her voice suddenly changing, becoming sickly-sweet. I saw the emotions in her eyes turn from irritation to pure predator. "You can still redeem yourself. "

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you!" Uncle shouted, and I tried to add two and two in my mind. _Redemption...his throne? The one thing he wants above all else?_

Suddenly the predator snapped. "Why don't you let _him_ decide, Uncle?" She wasn't even looking at her wise Uncle. Her eyes turned pleading, her voice still sickly sweet as she kept those same eyes focused on her brother. "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day; this glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back; you will have your father's love; you will have everything you want."

I pulled against my bonds, but they cut into my skin, into my breasts and hips. "Zuko, I'm _listen to me_!" I shouted, feeling my desperation drip into every word. "Look into your heart...tell me what you _really _want!" Tears rained down my face. If he couldn't decide the right answer this time, then what I thought we'd have was done. If he chose the wrong answer…

He didn't want me.

Zuko looked back at Uncle and me; he was unsure of who to listen to. _I know that this is hard for you, Zuko, I know it is... Think! Do you want a father who burned you, who banished you, for what you thought was right? Do you want a Nation that wants nothing but bloodshed? Or do you want a family, a warm home, and safe, loving arms that can hold you?_ He shut his eyes and hung his head, trying to come to a decision.

"You are free to choose," Azula said simply. She waved a hand to the Dai Li agents, signaling them to leave. Both of them Earthbended a stone cube under their feet and slid back up the ramp with fluid ease, sending jealously through me once more. Azula departed through the tunnel Aang and Katara had gone through, not even turning around to look at us again. She just...left.

Zuko's mind was in turmoil over what actions he should make at this critical moment. He put his hand in his pocket and clutched something in it before he hung his head. I didn't know what had gone through there, or how long he even stood there, but he got a strange look in his eyes, and then he...he ran out.

I felt myself sob, because I knew that his decision had been final. "Uncle, _why_?" I sobbed, wanting to hide my crying face but unable to, as my hands were still bound. _You've helped him so much, why is he betraying us?_

Iroh's eyes were closed, and steam was rising up around him. I tried to melt my bonds, to pull forth the fire that Zuko had tried to help me with, but I couldn't get enough breath. My mind was in turmoil, my heart was going a mile a minute. I couldn't even stop crying. Iroh was soon in front of me, though, melting my bonds, pulling me into his arms. "There are many things in this life that are difficult to interpret. The doubts that surround him, the safety that has grown around him...they've turned him. His doubts have taken over. He no longer wants the safety of our life."

"But its our _family_!"

He calmed me down enough to where he could explain. "One side, his _good_ side, may want a family, but his other side, the one which his sister is feeding on...it will stop at _nothing_ to get what it thinks it deserves."

That last statement struck me. It literally made me calm down, almost within that same minute. _It will stop at nothing to get what it wants?_ Really, then. "Well then neither will I." I grabbed Iroh's arm and started pulling him along. My brain, now that it had slowed down, could finally think. "The Avatar's in trouble. Come on! We need to help!"

We ran up the tunnel that Katara had disappeared through, following the light at the end of the tunnel. Then I smelt smoke, and I heard the sounds of battle continuously. I started running. An image of Aang's mangled body flashed through my mind, of agonizing pain, and I almost fell when I reached the end. I came to the scene of destruction. Fire rained down everywhere. Jagged rocks, massive craters, and bodies strewn the floor. I instantly zeroed in on Zuko, who was leading an army of Dai Li right to a group of glowing green crystals. These crystals held such power, such light, that I was afraid to even move or I'd finally become the spirit that I was destined to be.

An incredible explosion of spiritual power destroyed everything around the protective crystals. The Dai Li agents shielded themselves from the blast, even moving to block Zuko. I watched in awe, completely dazed, as Aang rose from the ground in a bright pillar of cosmic light. Near him, Katara looked up at Aang, hope returning to her. Aang levitated in the air, until suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit his body.

All at once, I was falling as well. Iroh, finally caught up with me, caught my body. I couldn't move, I couldn't think...all I felt was the same, gaping hole in my abdomen that had happened oh so long ago. _You failed...your job on this planet was to protect the Avatar, and you have failed... _Aang's body plummeted to the earth below. His clothes were charred, and there was a terrible wound on his back where he was struck, as well as a burnt spot on the sole of his foot where the lightning had exited. Katara stared shocked and horrified, tears rolling down her face, though I doubted that I looked any better. She turned her body and swirled the water around her. Katara created a large wave and rode on top of it towards Aang, arms spread behind her. The wave rolled over Zuko and the Dai Li, washing them away. Katara caught Aang and landed on the ground, the water flowing away from her. She held Aang's unconscious body and looked up hopelessly. Zuko and Azula began advancing on Katara and the fallen Aang when I finally gained back my power, and my anger.

I swung my arms over my head, feeling my chi building up inside of me. I swung my arms around once, twice, and then thrust both arms forwards, marveling at the white fire that flowed from my fingertips, surrounding Zuko, his vile sister, and those Dai Li. I soared down on a jet of flame, Iroh not too far behind me, landing between the two sides. "Get out of here," I said lowly to Katara, my eyes only set on Azula. "I'll hold them off."

Uncle suddenly punched left and right, shooting fire blasts at any potential attacker while keeping me behind him, protecting me as well as letting Katara make her escape with Aang. I didn't need protection. I was a woman on a mission, and I instantly shot forwards, directly in front of Azula, right in her plain sight. I brought my hands up, jumped forwards, and brought my arms down in front of me, bending two waves of white flame in each hand that came together to shoot forwards at her.

Blue and white collided into a wall of fire. As the flames died down, Azula leaped forward on a jet of fire and kicked forward, shooting a blast of intense, intriguing blue fire. I wasn't going to give up, not when that look of irritation was in her eyes from seeing how powerful I actually was, not when I knew that it would either be her, or it would be me. She performed three spinning kicks, sending out a wave of fire towards me each time.

I punched forwards, releasing a powerful stream of flames. It collided with Azula's once more, finally both so powerful that they slipped to either side. I continued my blast of fire while keeping the enormous blue flames on my other side at bay, slowly sliding backward.

Suddenly my foot slid back. I gasped and pivoted my foot to try and strengthened my stance, trying to steady myself. Fire blasted towards me, actually hitting me and sending me flying backwards. Angrily, I stood up and punched forwards a stream of fire. Azula leaped forwards and upward onto a blast of fire, which she swung down at me in her fury. Just before the attack hit, I spun my body in a circle and thrust my palms out to the sides, creating a wall of flame that split the blue fire in half.

The fire was dying down as Azula held her balance on a rock that stuck up from the earth. She was panting heavily and glaring at me, her teeth gritted, her eyes narrowed in determination. I saw this as the time to attack. I opened my left fist and punched forwards with the other, and two immense fireballs were launched at her, spiraling and intertwining to create one massive fireball. I had learned that move from my father, and at that moment, he had better have been damn proud of me. Azula's eyes widened in fear. But before it hit her, she dodged to the right on a jet of blue fire. She thrust herself forwards while in the air, rocketing over the ground on jets of fire from her hands and feet. She punched forwards twice, launching two huge blue fire blasts.

I placed my hands near the ground and shot a gout of flames, thrusting myself up into the air and avoiding one of her attacks. I spun in the air and swung my heel downward, which created an arc of flame that blocked the second blast. As I fell down, I swung my arms down as well, creating a blast of fire that destroyed the third one.

I crouched, my arms extended forward and blue and white flames surrounding me while Azula flew forwards over the ground. She banked to the right, avoiding my last fire blast. She shot a blast of blue fire at me and started circling me, followed behind by an enormous trail of blue fire propelling her. I swept my leg across the ground, creating a powerful ring of fire that expanded outwards and destroyed her cage of blue fire. She tried to stop herself and block my attack with a shield of her lightning, but she was too slow and my fire connected with her.

She fell forwards and rolled across the ground, gasping in pain.

I slid over to her quickly, holding my arm up, ready to attack her. _Lost your breath, huh, Princess?_ Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Uncle fending off Zuko and the Dai Li. I wanted to help him, but I was after Azula. Katara and Aang were still running, Katara lacking the natural strength to haul the Airbender around.

"Do you enjoy seeing other people in misery?" I asked lowly, looking into her predatory eyes. I bent down, holding my fist directly above her face. She wasn't scared, though. She was looking at me warily, as if I were a bomb, ready to explode. "Do you enjoy ruining other people's _lives_?"

"Emiko," she said softly, looking straight into my eyes. Disappointment rang through her voice, and it even showed in her eyes. "My, my...and to think, I'd thought you for one of us."

"_I WILL NEVER BE ONE OF YOU!_" I shouted, feeling the flames around me grow higher and higher. "You destroy families, you break apart people until they're nothing but putty in your hands!" I grabbed her armor, picking her up with more strength than I'd thought I'd had. I thrust her body harshly up against the wall of rock next to us.

She slowly picked up one arm, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. "Don't you see?" she asked softly, purring, trying to make me calm. Her touch sent a small electric current through me, and for a moment, I _was _calm. I slowly put her down, releasing her armor, watching her cherry red lips come closer and closer, until they brushed against my cheek and gently kissed below my ear. "_You already are._"

Instantly, a roaring fire soared through my body. I picked her up and watched as her body flew half way across the cavern before she caught herself, though not before sending a gout of blue fire right at me. I was so full of pain and fury, so sick that she knew one of my worst fears, that I hadn't had time to move. I'd just...I'd just thrown her! And then her flames hit me for the second time in my life.

Zuko didn't care about me. He didn't care that I was kneeling on the cool, cavern floor, or that my shoulder was burned and that my entire body was shaking from shock. All he wanted was his throne and his father's love. He wanted to be better than Azula. _I'm not better than Azula. She's beat me._ But I vowed, right then and there, that the next time I had to face Azula, it would be my last.

_The Avatar!_ I almost got up to race after him, clutching my bloodied arm, but then I saw Uncle. The Dai Li, Zuko, and now even Azula were closing in on him. For a moment, his eyes met mine, and so I knew what I had to do, but I didn't want to do it; I didn't want to leave my father!

But I had to. I used one of my hottest flames to burst me across the cavern, up the hole that Katara had disappeared into. The water almost zapped my power completely, but it felt so wonderful on my burned skin that it was almost painful. I looked up, seeing the bright, starry skies ahead of me, and I exploded into the night sky. I never even thought about falling, or how I'd get back down, but the next thing I knew...

Was darkness.

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**Dun Dun Dun Dunnnnn! **

"I was going to heal you in a moment," Katara said softly, looking at me with a strange hesitation in her eyes. Though I didn't blame her. After Zuko's betrayal, how could she trust me?

"It's nothing," I said softly, clenching my eyes whenever she put her cool hand on it.

"No, it isn't. Just let me get some water and I'll—"

I grasped her hand in mine, flinching when it made me move. "You won't do a damn thing."

Confusion was in Katara's pretty blue eyes. "What?"

"You're not going to heal it."


	18. Epilogue

**I'm so sad, its almost done! But, just read, mmkay? (And a review would be nice?)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. At all!**

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**Epilogue**

Iroh knew that they were gone. He knew that Emiko had been hurt, but that she was safe. After what she'd done for the Avatar, he would keep her safe, as would her friend, the Earthbending girl from before. He also knew that Azula would not take her loss easily. Though she had temporarily won, she knew that Emiko would be back for blood, and Iroh knew that Azula was ready for it.

Iroh ceased his attack and quietly surrendered once they were out of danger. Two Dai Li agents, who Iroh knew to just be following the one with all of the power, bended a ring of crystals around Iroh and trapped him. They were formidable opponents, one of the main reasons Iroh hadn't been able to beat the greatest city, which was now fallen. The great Avatar Kyoshi had trained them herself. And they were trained perfectly...even enough to honorably kill the son of the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation in battle.

Prince Zuko stared blankly at his Uncle, though Iroh stared back at his nephew for a moment, and turned his head down sadly, saying nothing. After all...

What was there to say?

_**Emiko**_

I awoke to the cool hand of a Waterbender on my arm. At first, I'd thought that everything I'd seen, that I'd felt, had been a dream. But the pain of the real world wasn't a dream, nor was the pain that I felt emanating from those around me. I could feel the Avatar, alive but asleep, near me, feel his mental and physical pain. The pain of being hurt, but also the pain of loss. He'd let go of someone that he'd love, just so he could save that person. But now, he was worried that he wouldn't be able to love at all. So he laid in the lap of his hopeful love, her hands lovingly stroking his head, praying for his safe healing.

The hand that had touched me had been male. He was furious that he hadn't been able to do anything more. He was upset because he wasn't a bender, and he hadn't been able to protect his best friend. I knew many pains like it, and I wanted to hold his hand. So I reached up and took it.

My eyes flew open the second I touched him, and I was looking up into the starry night sky. The darkened face of a Water Tribe man was staring at me, his deep blue eyes soulful and full of sorrow. "Hey, Katara, she's awake," he said softly, in a tenor voice that somehow soothed me.

I slowly tried to sit up, trying to see Katara, but the second I moved, a blinding pain made my vision go white and I fell back down. "Do not try to move," said a peaceful, though sorrowful voice. "You will only hurt yourself." The man who had spoken was dressed in the finest clothes I'd ever seen, and he was even wearing spectacles. And he was holding...a bear?

"I must be dreaming," I rasped, wiping my face with my good hand. _That's a bear. I'm either delusional, or I'm dreaming. Please, Agni, let me be dreaming. Tell me that none of that was real, and that I'll wake up in Zuko's arms in the morning, safe and sound..._

"You aren't," the same man said, looking out over something that wasn't in my view. Fire shone off of the glass of his spectacles. "The Earth Kingdom...has fallen." I closed my eyes, and instantly I knew that none of it had been a dream. The Fire Nation had finally taken over the Earth Kingdom.

"I was going to heal you in a moment," Katara said softly, looking at me with a strange hesitation in her eyes. Though I didn't blame her. After Zuko's betrayal, how could she trust me?

"It's nothing," I said softly, clenching my eyes whenever she put her cool hand on it.

"No, it isn't. Just let me get some water and I'll—"

I grasped her hand in mine, flinching when it made me move. "You won't do a damn thing."

Confusion was in Katara's pretty blue eyes. "What?"

"You're not going to heal it."

_**Jasmine**_

It's a funny thing, betrayal. You think that its what you want, that you want to turn against the ones you love, but then _BAM!_ It hits you in the face like a speeding boulder. Kind of like what had happened to Ryuu. _My brother, I am so sorry..._ She'd never meant for any of her family to get hurt. First, it was Father. And then her sister, and then Ryuu. And now Emiko was hurt again. And she hadn't done _anything._

"We've done it Zuko…" Azula said softly, looking at her brother as she took her "rightful" place on the Earth Kingdom's throne. "It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se!"

"I betrayed Uncle…and Emiko…" Zuko said regretfully, making Jasmine wonder at the pain that she heard in his voice. She had the same pain as well, but for this boy to have those kinds of feelings...

"No, they betrayed _you," _she corrected, placing a hand on his shoulder. Jasmine knew that she was sending a soothing electric current through his body, trying to woo him to her side. "Zuko, when you return home, father will welcome you as a war hero!"

"But I don't have the Avatar. What if Father doesn't restore my honor?" _Pah! What do you know about honor, you miserable little cretin? You betrayed those close to you...at least I _know_ that I don't have _any_ honor..._

Azula stood up and placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder, and he looked up at her sadly. "He doesn't need to, Zuko. Today, you restored your own honor."

_Honor, betrayal...it is a funny thing..._

_But not really._

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**Baha! Its done! Part II is done! Did I tell you that I love it? Yes, yes, you loved it? But now, you must wait for Part III! I'll post it up right after this chapter on Friday or Saturday! Part III, "The End of the Daughter of the Sun."**


	19. Surprises

**Welcome back! Lets just say that this chapter is THE chapter for chapterness! Not only is it over 12,000 words, but Part III begins NOW!**

**Oh, and what do all of you think about my writing a story about how Emiko's mom, Amaterasu, and her dad, Zhao, got together? Amaterasu has a pretty interesting backstory, and Zhao wasn't ALWAYS a bad person! Just wondering~**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, or else it would all be real, and I would mother Zuko's children~ Just saying!**

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PART III

Surprises

_The sea is calm tonight._

It was strange for the sea to be calm at all, what with all that had happened. The Avatar was dead, and the world as we knew it would soon be taken over by fire. _Fire. What is this word, exactly? The phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat. One of the four elements of the world. Burning passion. Liveliness of imagination. Fuel in a state of combustion. A destructive burning._ _But its more than that. Fire is life. Fire may destroy, but from its ashes buds life._ _But not to the Fire Nation._ The Fire Nation would finally finish their one-hundred-year conquest that Sozin started when he killed off the Air Nomads. Ozai and his evil daughter had finally taken over Ba Sing Se, the only Earth Kingdom stronghold left.

And the Avatar was dead.

It didn't seem like that as I looked over the sea, the cool salt air blowing around me. I was alone, sitting on the prow of the ship, on the railing, not afraid of falling. Water, I was afraid of water. And I was afraid of losing everyone around me. I was afraid that all of this was all-too real, and that the Spirits _wouldn't _jump out at me and say that it was a joke, that I could go back to Ba Sing Se, back to when I'd love and had _been_ loved in return. But I wasn't afraid of water anymore, and I knew that it it couldn't happen.

All of this was very, _very_ real.

"Hey," came a soft voice behind me, and I turned to see that Katara was standing behind me, wrapped up tightly in her night robe. She'd been there for me when I'd fought Zuko, and before that, when I'd fought Azula. I'd never really known her, but I guess that later was better than never. "You okay?"

I looked back out to the sea, bringing my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs. "Not really." I was wearing my night clothes too, but why I bothered to change into them, I didn't know. I hadn't been able to sleep since it happened. It'd been about a month or so, I guess. Aang, the "dead" Avatar, was still unconscious in his room in the ship.

I guess that I should probably start over, for those of you who didn't start from the beginning. Lets just say that its been a long ride since then. My name is Emiko, Emiko Zhao. The last time you heard from me, I was unconscious on the back of a giant pill-bug flying bison with a beaver tail. But before that, I'd been living happily in Ba Sing Se with the formerly-known-as Dragon of the West and the banished Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Iroh had always been a father-like figure to me, since mine had died before my very eyes at the North Pole. And Zuko...well, Zuko and I hadn't always been on the best of terms. _And now, probably not so at all._ His decision to turn to Azula had not only broken my heart, but...

"Is it your shoulder?" Katara asked, sitting next to me on the prow, carefully watching me as I stared down into the silent black waters. I gently touched my bandaged shoulder. My first battle with Azula had left a hole in my abdomen that hadn't healed for a very, very long time. I still had the scar. But the recent battle had left me with a burn on my shoulder that wasn't from Azula, but from the man I'd thought I'd loved.

I still thought that I loved him, but how could I after what he'd done? He'd left me, he'd left his loving Uncle, who'd been with him those three years of banishment, all for a father who'd banished him in the first place, who'd given him his scar?

"No, but now that you mention it, it stings a little. Do you have any more of that ointment that you made?" I couldn't meet her clear blue eyes. I knew what she thought of me, and what she thought of what Zuko and I had had before. And she was even more disagreeing with my latest decision, which was my not allowing her to heal my burn. It was bad, but I'd seen worse. And I didn't want to forget what letting my guard down or letting myself believe in a healthy future could do to me.

She set her dark jaw, messing with a piece of her hair in an irritated way. She tended to do that when she was upset. "You wouldn't need it if you'd just let me heal that burn."

"For the last time, Katara," I sighed, turning and laying my head to the side so that I could look her in the eyes, "I don't want it healed. I want it—"

"To remind you. Yeah, I know." She settled there next to me for a while in companionable silence, listening to the waves and sitting under the full moon. To her, they must have been soothing, but the combination for me just made me more depressed and tired. And yet I still couldn't seem to sleep. "Do you want me to try and help you sleep? I've noticed that you come out here every night and wait until the sun rises. But you get less and less sleep every night."

_I guess that I'm not as oblivious as I thought. _I turned to her and smiled, slowly getting off of the bowsprit without falling into the water. Katara awkwardly put a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. "Thanks."

"No problem, Emiko."

Behind me, the sun was starting to rise. Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's father, was walking out of the cabins as we were walking in. He was a tall man, with dark skin and a tough, planed face. I could see Sokka and Katara in him somewhere, definitely in his kind blue eyes. Though I didn't want to get on his bad side. "Oh, there you are, Emiko. I needed to ask you something."

"No time," Katara said, a little snapishly. The murderous look in her eyes was directed at her father, and I felt a pang in my heart. _No, Katara...don't be mad at your father. Be happy that he's still with you._ "Emiko hasn't slept in over a week."

Hakoda looked a little taken back, so I quickly stepped in. "I-its alright, Katara. Thank you for the offer, but I've really got to help with the plan, you know that."

"Not if it takes over your entire life," Katara argued, taking a firm grip on my good arm. "You're going to get sick if you don't rest."

"I've got to do something other than lay around and think about things, Katara. I've got to keep my mind busy." I pulled my arm away from hers and looked at Hakoda, our eyes complete opposites, but our minds in the same set. "What did you need, Hakoda?" I thought that the Fire Nation garb looked strange on him, but all of us had to wear it in order to fool any passing Fire Nation ship. Even _I _had to wear it during the day, though I'd promised myself I never would again. I was wearing my pajamas still at the moment.

We walked over to the stacks of boxes we'd been using to sit on during our "meetings," and I made a small fire in the pit in front of us to warm us up in the cool morning air. "I've got to ask you a question, Emiko. A very serious one."

_Uh-oh. _"O-of course, Hakoda. You can ask me anything."

He looked too serious for my taste. "I know that you're a Firebender, Emiko." _Oh. That._ "And I know that you don't like to use your bending. But I need to ask a favor of you."

"I can't," I said, instantly knowing exactly what he wanted. I couldn't even meet his eyes now, so I stared into the white-hot fire in front of us. "Aang doesn't need _me_, personally, to train him. I can feel it. I wouldn't be able to teach him what he _really_ needs. I...I would know if Iroh were here. If he were here to guide me, I could train h-him, and I-I could be strong. But I'm n-not, Hakoda. I'm not ready." I felt myself starting to cry, so I started shutting down my emotions. I wouldn't cry again, not since Zuko left me had I cried. Not even because there seemed to be something wrong with me. _I'll be fine...I'll ask Katara if it keeps up for any longer..._

He nodded seriously, but I saw sadness and disappointment in his eyes. "I see."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I don't think you do."

Hakoda looked like a kid who'd gotten his hand stuck in a cookie jar. "Well, maybe I don't. But then...what will you do? Will you at least teach him the basics?"

I shook my head, biting my lip. What _would_ I do? What could I do besides pretend that I was a part of the Fire Nation, and—

_Hmm..._

Hakoda must have noticed the sudden change in my demeanor, because his face turned to confusion. He about asked what was wrong, but his son, Sokka, came up and sat down next to him and interrupted him. "Something on your mind?" he asked hesitantly, the same look in his eyes. Sokka didn't approve of me, still, even though I'd helped find his sister. The fact that I'd fought Azula one-on-one had impressed him, but that was about it. I still couldn't get him to believe that I was on his side.

I nodded, staring into the fire for a moment more, trying to figure out the details in my head. "This ship has a cutter, right?"

Sokka and Hakoda looked at each other warily. Sokka, of course, didn't trust me. Still, I couldn't blame him. "...Yes, why?"

I took a deep breath. "I know that neither of you have really wanted to tell me the real plan, but I know the gist of it. There's an eclipse coming up soon." I looked up when Bato quickly moved over, a look of shock in his eyes. He was one of Hakoda's Water Tribe warriors, not to mention his best friend. Why did all of them look alike to me? "Don't ask how I know, I just do." Not even _I_ could explain it. Behind them, I saw Katara and Toph, one of my best friends, chatting as they leaned against the cabin wall. "I know that you plan to get together a small team of allies to attack while the Firebenders are vulnerable. Who wouldn't? I'll find some way to get you a map of the mainland, and try to map out the capital building for you."

"But to do that, you'll have to go to the Fire Nation," Sokka said, his eyes as sharp as daggers.

_Excellent observation, Sokka._ "I know. And my plan is to infiltrate them from the inside while you come at them from the outside. Like when you dealt with the Drill, you broke it down from the inside. I'll sabotage their army."

"What's the point?" I liked Bato. He didn't judge me, even though he should have. I even think that he trusted me partly. "They won't be able to Firebend anyways."

"You obviously underestimate the masses that are in their Army, let alone their Navy." The Fire Nation was so powerful, I knew for a fact that at least five hundred thousand of their one billion inhabitants were in the Army, perhaps more in the Navy, and that had been before I'd run away years ago. "At least two hundred and fifty thousand soldiers are in the Fire Nation alone; perhaps fifty thousand to a hundred in the capital _city _alone. If I should deploy most of them before the battle, or if something should..._happen_...then you would have a better chance of actually getting into the building."

They were all silent for a moment, actually thinking about what I'd just said. I knew that it would be dangerous, but I _needed_ this. Even if seeing Zuko again would only break my heart further, even if it killed me on the inside to see everything that reminded me of those I loved, I had to do this. Somehow, I had to redeem myself. Momo landed on my shoulder, and I petted him as the others looked into the fire, mulling over my proposition.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Emiko?" Bato asked softly, looking at me with his pretty blue eyes. _Why do all Water Tribe __men have beautiful, sky-blue eyes? _

I nodded, scratching Momo behind the ears. "I have to do this. If I don't—" I was about to say that if I didn't, then I wouldn't be able to do _anything_, but that was when a large chunk of wood slid across the ground and stopped right below my feet. Momo chirped happily and leaped away from me, landing next to the one and only Avatar Aang.

Toph instantly said, "Twinkle-Toes, that's got to be you."

I smiled as Toph and Katara ran towards Aang excitedly. Bato and Hakoda had stood up, too, and The Duke, standing in full Fire Nation battle armor, was standing behind him. So was a very, very large Pipsqueak. Aang must have seen them in their Fire Nation gear and run, expecting the worst.

"Aang, you're awake!" Katara cried, throwing her arms around his neck. _Poor guy. He just woke up and no one can keep their hands off of him._

"Are you sure?" Aang asked as he rubbed his eyes, surprise on his face from Katara's embrace. "I feel like I'm dreaming…"

"You're not dreaming. You're finally awake." Katara let go as Sokka stood up, walking over to his best friend to gently hug him. "Aang, good to see you back with the living, buddy."

"Sokka?" Aang asked, confusion written in his voice. He looked around and suddenly started swaying. I wanted to get up and help, but for some reason, I simply couldn't move.

Toph moved, even though she coudln't see him, and started running towards him. "Uh-oh! Somebody catch him, he's gonna…!"

I sighed as the hollow _THUD_ echoed throughout the ship. "And he's out cold."

**_Zuko_**

He knew that the sky, though clear, would soon start to thunder and lightening. He'd learned, a long time ago, that a sky like this might have looked right, it might have _seemed_ right, but it was so completely wrong. It was almost exactly what his insides were saying about being where he was. He was supposed to be here? He wasn't?

What in Koh's name was he supposed to _think_? All of these voices were stirring inside his mind, and he couldn't think. One moment he saw Azula, standing there, welcoming him with open arms, and then one of her men was calling him a prisoner. Next, he saw Iroh, his smiling face telling him that everything was finally right in the world, that they could live peacefully, and have a life. And then...he saw Emiko, her beautiful face as he made love to her, as he held her close afterwards. He clenched the gift he had been going to give her in his pocket, taking a deep breath so that he wouldn't let out the tear that threatened to roll down his cheek.

Suddenly he felt another presence behind him. It was dark and moody, and he felt a shiver of sickness when he wanted to compare this darkness and Emiko. "Aren't you cold?" Mai asked in her monotone voice. Emiko would have run up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, instantly warming him up with her strange heat.

But he shook his head. He couldn't tell her what was _really_ on his mind, or he'd be considered a traitor. Koh, was he _still_ considered a traitor? He wasn't sure. And so he told her a partial truth. "I've got a lot on my mind." He didn't mention that his heart was breaking inside, from seeing the pain on Emiko's face, from hearing her scream when his fire had hit her. He clenched his hand, knowing that Mai expected something more from him. _Emiko wouldn't have expected more. She would have just nodded, and held me close..._ "I-it's been so long, over three years since I was home… I wonder what's changed. I wonder how _I've _changed."

She sighed and looked out onto the sea, like he'd been doing. A shot of lightening blazed through the sky, hitting something out far in the distance, and it reflected in her dull black eyes. _Something else that just isn't the same_. "I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story!" She smiled, but it still wasn't _right._ She put her arms around him, hugging him to her stiff, emotionless body. "Stop worrying."

Zuko felt sickened. He felt that somehow he was betraying Emiko, but he knew that he'd already done that when he'd left her, when he'd _burned_ her. He shrugged Mai's arms off, ignoring her sigh and the sound of her feet retreating. He had to do something, something to get his mind off of _her_, but every spot of this damned ship reminded him of her! The bowsprit, mostly, which was where he was standing at the moment. He slowly ran his hand over the cool metal of it, imagining her sitting there every morning, watching the sun rise, and every night, watching it set. He'd never understood it, but he wanted to now, even though he couldn't.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no way he was ever going to see her again. And, if he did, she would never forgive him. He would have to fight her, almost like she and Azula had fought. And even just thinking that sent a sharp pain through his heart.

Zuko took the small black necklace with golden highlights out of his pocket and clutched it in his hands. He remembered making it, keeping it a secret from her, even when they were making love, when he wanted to tell her everything. But he couldn't. And now, he never would be able to.

Slowly, he released his grip on the necklace and let it fall into the water, watching it sink to the bottom of the dark, merciless waters.

**_Emiko_**

"Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one out of it?"

Aang was, of course, freaking out about all of this. He'd been knocked out for a few weeks, enough to where a small amount of hair had grown on top of his head, almost completely covering his tattoo. It was then that I'd gotten another idea, trying to ignore Aang and Katara as I thought it through. Slowly, my plan was coming together, and soon I'd be back in the Fire Nation. But I wouldn't be _me_.

Suddenly Aang groaned and held his side in pain, making Katara panic. "Maybe we should go upstairs... You need a healing session." Katara helped Aang to his feet and took him to his room, but not before looking back at me. "And you're next."

I groaned, putting my face into my hands. Toph, next to me, laughed in her way, and punched me in my good arm. "You knew that she would start doing this sooner or later, Red."

"I know, but later sounded so much nicer." As did pulling out the steps of my plan, but I knew that _that_ wouldn't be able to be stalled. So I stood up, excusing myself from Toph, and I walked over to the three Water Tribe men in my presence. "Sokka."

He turned his head around, looking at me, and I could see the mistrust and hesitance in his eyes. "Yeah?"

_Come on Emiko, __just ask the question._ I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a second, before I looked into his handsome blue eyes again. "I...I need to borrow your knife."

All three of the men looked really surprised. After all, a Firebender could bend, what did she need a knife for? But anyways, the answer that he gave really confused me. "Its a machete."

"You're saying you'd actually let me use your knife?" I asked, wondering if Agni's lair was freezing at the moment. I'd known from the beginning that Sokka hadn't liked me, so now that he was participating in my plans, I was a little wary.

"Its a _machete_," he cried exasperatedly, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Whatever. Look, I just need to borrow it for a few minutes. I'll bring it back, I'll even shine it up for you when I'm done." I put my hands in front of me as if I were begging, which I really was, but it wasn't like I couldn't get a knife from somewhere else, but I figured hey, I need a knife, he has one, lets go for it! "Please? Please? You've reduced me to begging, now."

He looked slightly wierded out, unsheathing his "machete" and handing it to me slowly. "Alright, alright, here's my machete. Just be careful, alright?"

"I'm not _that_ clumsy," I stated, much to the laughing delight of the three Water Tribe Warriors. I felt myself steaming as I walked away from them, into the dark bowels of the ship, stuffing the machete into my waistband. _This just proves that I've been around them for _much _too long. _I slowed my angered pacing, trying to find the room that Katara and Aang had been in. I heard Katara and Aang talking, and hear Aang's agonized voice. I waited outside of the room, not wanting to interrupt anything, and I almost fell asleep before Katara walked out, silently closing the door behind her.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw me. "Oh! Emiko. I'm sorry. Aang's asleep, so I can help you with your therapy now." She took my arm awkwardly, pulling me along the dark, emotionless hallways. "He's really upset."

"Of course he is," I scoffed, hoping that the machete in my waistband wouldn't somehow end up hurting me or her. "He's just figured out that the entire world thinks he's dead. I'd be upset, too."

"But you're not the Avatar," she said pointedly, meeting my eyes for only a moment before she opened the door to her room and pulled me inside, closing the door behind us. _If only you really knew, Katara... If only I knew you well enough to tell you everything that I'm worried about!_ She sat me down on the bed, and I was reminded of what I had to do by the cold metal against my leg. "How's your arm been?"

"As good as it can be, I guess, considering." I hated it when she asked about my arm all the time. All it told me was that she wanted to heal me, but I wouldn't let her do that. I would let her help me with the physical therapy, though, because I needed to be able to move. I unbuttoned the front of my shirt, glad that it was button-up instead of one that I would have to pull over my head. I could barely raise my hand over my chest, let alone pull an entire shirt off my body. "Thank you. For helping me."

She seemed a little startled by my thanks, but she nodded as she took my arm into her hands, gently starting to rotate it. I flinched, taking deep breaths to get rid of the pain. I let out a little gasp of pain, but was glad that it'd been covered up; a _BOOM_ of thunder vibrated the ship, making Katara stop her torturous help for a moment. "Sounds like a storm."

"Great," I said sarcastically, looking down at my other hand in my lap. But even my statement didn't stop my need for therapy, so she kept going, making me wish that I _would_ have accepted her offer. But I couldn't. "I...really am glad that you're helping me." I couldn't meet her eyes; obviously we hadn't had this conversation before, because she stopped rotating my arm again.

"You helped us," she said simply, hesitation in her pretty voice. "And...even though you could possibly betray us, you did fight off Azula, and besides, you would have done something by now if you weren't on our side." I released my pent-up breath, glad to know what she thought. "You may be a Firebender, but I know that you have to have some goodness in you. Not all of you are bad." _Yeah, thanks._ "And...I know that you said that you couldn't train Aang...but could you think about it?"

"You were eaves-dropping?" I asked sarcastically, though my sarcasm was cut short when she pushed against a raw spot on my arm. "_Agni_, that hurts!"

"Not eaves-dropping...just listening."

"Hm." I took a few deep breaths, trying to keep from letting the tears of pain fall from my eyes like they should have. "I...I can't."

"I know." She pulled out her salve and started to put it on my torn, blistered skin, and I instantly felt a little better, even though it burned a little. "But even though you can't do that...I do wish that you would let me do more than just help with therapy."

_If she keeps it up, I may have to accept her offer. Too bad I'll be long gone before I regret not letting her heal it. _"I know. But...listen. I've got a favor to ask."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked hesitantly, _always hesitant_, as if I could do something at any moment. Which I wouldn't. It would be stupid to attack her, especially with the Avatar in a room down the hall, not to mention the Earth- and Metalbender up top, plus the ten others who could easily rip me in half, (minus The Duke.) So I wasn't that idiotic. "Like what?"

I motioned for her to stop the painful treatment on my arm, and I pulled the machete out of my waistband. Her eyes became as wide as dinner plates, and she slowly backed away from me. "I'm not going to attack you, Katara, so stop being like that. I want you...to cut my hair."

**_Jasmine_**

Fate was a funny thing.

She'd heard that saying a million times, but she'd never really understood it, because really, fate _wasn't_ funny. It was cruel and unusual and she hated it. Not only had it taken her mother away, but it'd taken her father and both of her siblings, too. Ryuu, wherever he was, was a fugitive from the Fire Nation. If she ever found him, she'd have to bring him in and take him to the Boiling Rock. But, according to a certain spy associate of hers, he'd already been found. With wife and child, too. It sickened her. Not only had her brother married into the Earth Kingdom, but she was an aunt and she didn't even know it.

Another supposedly funny thing was that she was actually relieved that her sister hadn't been taken into the custody of the Fire Nation. Supposedly she'd gotten away with the Avatar. _Good for you, li__ttle sister. _But she hadn't gotten away without getting hurt. Apparently, Zuko, the Crown Prince standing in front of her, getting ready to be reunited with his Nation and who had supposedly had a relationship with Emiko, had burned her shoulder. How bad, Jasmine wasn't sure. But it was bad enough.

Jasmine shook her head and looked up, to the old Firebending masters Lo and Li. They were seated on top of a very high balcony at the royal plaza, facing a large crowd of Fire Nation citizens. Behind them was a large archway filled with flames, as well as Ty Lee, Mai, and Jasmine, standing there to protect their Prince and Princess. _Gag._

When they spoke, they spoke together. "Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's capital. In Ba Sing Se she found her brother, Zuko, and together, they faced the Avatar. And the Avatar fell, and the Earth Kingdom fell. Azula's agents quickly overtook the entire city. They went to Ba Sing Se's Great Walls, and brought them down! The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the wall and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory! Now the heroes have returned home. Your princess, Azula!"

Azula walked out of the arch, a cat-like smile on her face, and Jasmine knew that she loved this attention. The "Princess" walked to the edge of the ornate balcony as the crowd cheered for her. She took a moment, basking in her "glory," when Jasmine knew that without the Dai Li, they wouldn't have gotten very far. _Fate.__.._

"And after three long years, your Prince has returned. Zuko!"

Zuko walked out onto the balcony and faced the crowd, and all that Jasmine felt was disgust. The Fire Nation citizens cheered for him as he sullenly gazed over the crowd. She didn't feel disgust because of his banishment, or even his scar. No, she felt disgusted that he would give up all that he loved, all that he could have had, for something that may or may not have been real.

**_Sokka_**

Sokka sat on top of a crate on the deck, surrounded by the rest of his friends and family and then..._she _was nowhere to be found. Neither was Katara. They were all eating bowls of noodles and tea that _she_ had specially made. Some people weren't in the best of moods, and _she_ had thought that they all needed to calm their nerves.

_There could be poison in this..._ he thought as he slurped a noodle. _But it tastes pretty damn good. There could be sleeping powder in it! She could try to ambush us, or..._

"Where's Katara?" Aang asked, wringing his hands in front of him. He looked so much different with the brown fuzz on top of his head, covering most of his scar. And then he looked so frail and sick from his wound, Sokka felt like he had to protect him most of the time. But whenever he tried to help, Aang would just get upset and angry, and so he couldn't even bother. "I don't want to start without her here."

"She's helping Emiko," Hakoda said, his arms crossed over his chest. Sokka's father was looking at the cabin, where Katara had been hidden for quite some time, giving therapy to Emiko. Sokka had missed his father quite a bit, and seeing him again, after all that time felt like something out of a fairytale. "For some reason, Emiko won't let Katara heal her burn."

"Emiko," Aang said quietly, as if trying to remember something. His grey eyes looked up and met Sokka's, and for once, the boy looked as if he knew something. "Is she really short? Black hair?"

"She was fighting Azula before...you know." Sokka had to clear his throat and look away, because he felt slightly uncomfortable even talking about _her_. He didn't trust her. And why in Koh's name had he given her his _machete_? Anyways, he figured that anyone who had traveled with Zuko was bad. Then again, she'd also fought against Azula. So that made her good?

He was about to ask what everyone thought about her, but the cabin's door opened and Katara walked out. When she saw Aang, her face lit up, and she ran over to him, giving him a hug. "I'm so glad that you're alright," she said, pulling up a crate next to him. "I didn't miss anything, did I? Emiko didn't want to miss anything, either."

"Sounds like you two are all buddy-buddy, now," Sokka said, feeling slightly hurt on the inside that his sister would become friends with _her_.

"Who's all buddy-buddy?" Of course, it was _her!_ Sokka turned, ready to tell her what he thought of her, but he felt very, very confused all of a sudden. It was Emiko, yeah, but she was..._different_. At first, she'd refused to wear the Fire Nation armor, but she seemed to be wearing it just fine, now. And her _hair_! It was cut almost as short as Aang's! "Nevermind." She pulled up a crate between Sokka and his father, sitting down on it and giving a small smile to Aang. "Hey, Avatar. Have a good sleep?"

"Yeah..." Aang said softly, his face confused as he looked at the Firebender. Her hair, black as midnight, was cut up above her ears, like a young boy's. "How did you...when...?"

"Sokka's been wanting to tell this," she said, leaning her elbows down onto her knees. "So I'll let him. Oh! And here's your machete."

Sokka nodded at her, wondering what had made her cut her hair like that. He took his machete from her, noticing that it was shined so much that he could see his refection in the whale bone. "Right...anyways, uh...you were injured, and we had to get you to safety," Sokka explained, shaking his head. He had to remember that this girl was just a Firebender, she wasn't a part of their group! "We flew back to Chameleon Bay, where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. Soon, the bay was overrun with Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, Emiko helped us blend in and capture a single Fire Navy ship that we used for our disguise."

Emiko blushed slightly, especially when Hakoda patted her on the back and congratulated her. "It wasn't that big of a deal. You've just got to know people."

"Well, you knew plenty, apparently," Sokka mumbled jealously, wishing that he could have been as cool-headed as Emiko had been. Obviously, she'd been on a wanted list. She'd gotten herself captured as an "injured" female, and then had taken down almost the entire ship by herself. Irritated, Sokka pulled out a map and pointed to where all of them were. "Since then, we've been traveling west. The Serpent's Pass is long gone. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

"So, what now?" Aang asked, his eyes looking destroyed, confused, and very, very hurt.

Sokka then remembered what had been talked about that morning. And, as much as he hated to do it, he nodded towards Emiko. "Me?" she asked, her eyes suddenly brighter without all of the hair around her face. "Oh...well, yeah. I guess I should tell you guys what I've been planning. Alright, where to begin... At the beginning, I guess. When I was little, Zhao, my father, put me into the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Lets just say that I learned quite a bit about how to pull off doing something that I really don't want to do. I will get off the boat at the next appropriate time and set back for the Fire Nation Capital to confirm your deaths. I'll take the cutter. Hopefully none of you will need it. Anyways, when I get to the capital and tell them that I destroyed the rest of your friends—no offense guys—then they will welcome me back. If not, then I'll play the Spirit card. Either way, I'll destroy them from the inside out."

"The Spirit card?" Sokka asked, knowing that he looked incredulous, but he really didn't care. He wanted to tell her _exactly_ what he thought of her, even _if_ her plan was good! "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Aang knows what I'm talking about," she said softly, looking down at her hands, as if she felt uncomfortable. "It doesn't really matter, but lets just say that the Fire Nation needs me."

Aang nodded, and he really did look as if he knew what she was talking about. "But what are _we_ going to do?"

Katara took over, even though she knew that Sokka wanted the floor back. "We won't be able to mount a giant invasion without the Earth King's armed forces, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation susceptible."

"So we're planning a smaller invasion!" Sokka said, happy to have the attention back on him. "We'll attack the outside while Emiko attacks the inside. It's just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke."

Aang looked over to see the Duke sitting on Pipsqueak's shoulder. "Good to see you again, Aang," Pipsqueak said with a salute, the Duke smiling his gap-toothed smile and waving his little hand frantically.

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage," Sokka whispered, feeling giddy on the inside. He knew that their little plan was foolproof! "We have a secret!" He had to look around, just in case there was anyone around to spoil the surprise for the entire world. "You!"

"Me?" Aang asked, and Emiko suddenly looked wary at the news.

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead!" Sokka said, and he felt as if he should stand up, so he did, and he pumped his fist in the air, he was so excited! "Isn't that great?"

Shock was plastered on Aang's face. Emiko started to get up, but not before Aang suddenly screamed in mortification. "The world thinks I'm _dead_? How is that _good_ news? That's _horrible_!"

"No, it's actually a really good thing," Emiko said softly, moving over to the Avatar. For a moment, she looked scared to touch him, but she did, and she looked very relieved, as if she'd expected something to happen. "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting you anymore. And even better, they won't expect you on The Day of Black Sun."

"No, no, no, no, no," Aang said, shoving her hand off of his shoulder, looking mortified. "You have no idea. This is so messed up!" He looked as if he wanted to say much, much more, but the horn of another ship blared. Sokka looked over his shoulder as another Fire Nation ship approached up ahead.

"I'll handle this," Aang said, brandishing his glider. "The Avatar is back!" He slammed his glider staff on the floor, opening its wings, but it caused him to flinch in pain and clutch his side. Bearing through it, Aang grabbed the glider's wings and prepared to take off.

"Aang, wait," Emiko said suddenly, brandishing her helmet under her arm. "Remember, they don't know we're not Fire Nation."

Sweating heavily, Aang reluctantly folded his glider up.

"Everyone just stay calm," Hakoda ordered everyone. "Emiko and I will take care of this." Sokka, though sad that he wouldn't be with his father on this, gladly took his friend's arm and pulled him away, to hide him, just in case the Fire Nation soldiers decided to take a closer look at anything.

Hakoda and Emiko donned their Fire Nation helmets. Pipsqueak lifted up The Duke, who was wrapped in a large piece of tarp. He threw The Duke over Appa, who was sitting in the cargo pit, letting the tarp unravel and cover the flying Bison. Momo jumped into the pit with Appa. Aang, Sokka, and Toph crouched inside the stairway leading below the deck. It wasn't long before Katara joined them, and they waited under there, just in case something happened.

**_Emiko_**

_Oh, thank Agni._ I looked over to Hakoda and felt myself sighing in relief. "I know this man. His name is Officer Kato. He commands the Western Fleet."

"It's a good thing you know all of this," he said, giving out the same breath in relief. "I don't know what we're going to do without you. You're the only one who knows the Fire Nation."

"You'll figure it out," I said softly as I watched out ships stop parallel to each other. I was posing as a Commander, and Hakoda as my Captain. Even though he was older, it wasn't uncommon for a younger woman to be a higher rank. I just hoped that my face, through the opening in my mask, wasn't very remarkable. I got even more nervous as the gangway between our ships was lowered, and Officer Kato, along with two other Fire Nation soldiers, walked to our ship.

I bowed, hoping that Hakoda would do the same, which he did. The Officer, Kato, raised a thick black eyebrow. "Commander, why are you off course?" Kato asked me, irritation in his voice. "All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving toward Ba Sing Se to support the occupation."

"Actually, we're from the Eastern Fleet," I told him honorably, meeting his eyes and hoping to whatever Spirit that was watching over me that I could get through this. "We have orders to deliver some cargo."

"Ah, Eastern Fleet. Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way."

"I am sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect, sir," Hakoda told him, and again, I thanked Agni that he could at least play along, even if he couldn't really look like a Fire Nation civilian.

"I mean, how hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?"

I nodded, glad that this man was dumb enough to really believe us. "Next time, we'll send two hawks to be sure you get the message." I bowed to the man, feeling my heart suddenly become ten times lighter. "Good day, Sir."

Kato and the soldiers began to walk back across the bridge, and I turned on my heel, suddenly crying, "All below to the engines! We've got a deadline to cover, people!" And I thought that that would be it. But it wasn't.

Toph suddenly climbed out of the stairway and pointed at Kato. "They know!" she said as she jumped away, getting ready to do something to protect all of us. _Though how they know, I'll never know!_

I threw off my helmet, still thinking that it felt weird that I didn't have long hair, and did a round kick of fire that made them lose their balance and fall off the side of the bridge. Before they fell into the water, they grabbed the edges of the bridge and tried to pull themselves up. Toph grabbed the metal and twisted it, bending a fissure in it leading all the way up to the bridge. The bridge buckled, and the officer and soldiers fell with it. They yelled in fear as they fell into the water below.

Katara bent a small mountain of water up between the ships. She turned in a circle and pushed her arms forward. The water slammed into the side of the other ship, knocking it back several yards.

Our stolen Fire Nation ship begins to make its escape. A rope ladder was being tossed over the side of the other Fire Nation ship to the officer and the soldiers floating in the sea, which the officer grabbed and began to climb, and believe me, I was glad that it was over. I wiped my forehead and gave a high-five to Katara and Toph.

But, alas, it _wasn't_ over. Every time that something bad was about to happen, I was lulled into a false sense of security. I wondered when I would learn.

A Firebender ignited an oil-covered rock loaded onto a trebuchet on the other ship. The trebuchet was fired and the flaming ammo was flung into the air towards our stolen Fire Nation ship. The ignited boulder hit the water, just missing us. They fired again, and this time the flaming boulder hit the hull. Everyone on the ship tried to regain his or her balance as it tipped.

Toph entered an Earthbending stance as The Duke stood behind her. "Load the Toph!"

Pipsqueak heaved a big stone disc over his head. He set the disc in front of Toph who took two steps forward and slammed her foot into the floor, which popped the disc into the air in front of her. She turned and shoved the stone disc with her palms, shooting it at the enemy ship. The stone disc flew across the water towards the Fire Nation ship. It hit the trebuchet, demolishing it. Another trebuchet was fired. Toph launched another disc. The flaming boulder and the stone disc collided in the air and exploded.

A ballista on the enemy Fire Nation ship pointed downwards and fired. The chained, metal projectile shot into the water and punctured the hull of our stolen ship. It caused a huge leak and water began to rush in. The chain connected to the projectile was pulled taught and pulled out, expanding the breach and flooding the hull even more. Katara waved her arms upwards. She pushed her palms down and exhaled freezing mist towards the hole in the hull. The mist descended down the ship toward the breach. The hole froze over. "I'm gonna give us some cover!" she called.

Katara pressed her arms down, pushing down the water between the two ships. A cloud of mist formed and rose up from the water. She lifted her arms up and bended a huge cloud of mist into the air. She pushed her arms out, making the mist float behind the stolen ship, clouding the view. The mist engulfed both ships. Everyone on deck ran when a fireball pierced through the mist.

Pipsqueak stood by a load of stone discs. He dropped the disc he was holding and ran away just before the fireball smashed into the pile of discs. I felt useless. What could I do? We didn't have a tretchbucket, like them, and there was no way that I could light one of Toph's stone discs on fire, without the right fuel, and...

Another fireball was fired from the enemy ship and it hit the back end of the stolen ship's deck. Katara and I put up shields of our elements to protect ourselves from the attack. We quickly turned to inspect the damage, to see that the engine was on fire. Katara bended water up from below and threw it at the fire, but I got to it first and with a wave of my hand extinguished it.

Suddenly, a giant serpent busted from the water behind us, towering over the ship and screeching.

The serpent was about the strike our ship when a fireball from the enemy ship hit it in the head. It dived into the water and disappeared. I saw the serpent swimming under our stolen ship and then under the enemy Fire Nation ship. The serpent emerged and wrapped its body around the vessel.

"Wow," I said, dropping my arms from my Firebending stance. "If that's not a sign, then I don't know what is." _I just hope that it isn't going to lead me into a false sense of security, is all._ "I think its high time we got out of here. Toph!"

"Yeah," she said, suddenly appearing by my side. "Whaddya need?"

"Get any of the extra metal from the hull that you possibly can, and I'll weld together the hole in our hold. Katara?" She appeared, too, looking slightly tired out from all of that bending. Even though we were on her element, and I could barely do anything, I was actually kind of happy that I didn't look as worn out as her. "I need you to bend the water away from us, so that we can get going." She nodded wearily. "Thanks, guys. And Sokka?" I asked, feeling just as weary. Unfortunately, he still had that look on his face, but I just had to ignore it. "I need you to get the cutter ready. If I'm going to set my plan into motion, its going to have to be soon."

_I can do this..._

_I __have to._

**_The Next Day..._**

"So...you want to tell me something about what you did when you were with Zuko?" Katara asked as she applied pressure to my arm, bending it, rotating it, trying to make sure that I would always be able to move it.

I almost sputtered my disapproval from her saying his name, and for a moment I'd thought about the moment where I'd been very, very jealous of them down in the crystal caves, but then I took a deep breath, trying to remember that it was all behind me. "I'm not sure that I want to talk about it...a lot. But...we were close."

"I thought so," she said as she massaged her salve into my arm. "I noticed that you weren't very happy with me when I was touching him, back in the catacombs."

I gave a small laugh, closing my eyes as I fought back a cringe. "Well, he never let me touch his scar. So I was a little...jealous, to say the least. I think I've touched his scar once before that. And here was his enemy, touching him as if they'd known each other their whole lives!"

"I knew, and I'm sorry about that," she said softly, and I could tell that by the look in her eyes, she really meant it. "We were talking about our mothers, how we both lost them. And for a moment, I'd thought he'd changed. I offered to try and heal his scar with this special water from the Spirit Oasis."

So, Katara had thought that he'd changed, too. Well, he had, for a while. He'd made love to me, and for a while, I was pretty sure that he _had_ loved me. But I didn't think that he really knew what that meant, not now, not then. Maybe someday he would, but not now. "I'd thought that he'd changed, too."

"He mentioned you, you know." She said this nonchalantly, as if she really wanted to know more about me. She probably understood that she'd have to really pull it out of me. "He said that he didn't want to lose you, and that he really thought he had. He thought that he'd had a life in Ba Sing Se, but then Azula had shown up..."

"Yeah. That's what he _said_. Obviously, though, his actions showed differently." I shook my head, not able to say anything more. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let me ask you something."

"I don't have to cut your hair again, do I?" she asked hesitantly, looking at me as if I would pull another machete out of my pants.

I laughed, glad to know that she was feeling a little different towards me. "No, don't worry, nothing like that. Well...you know that I won't let you heal my arm. But if I told you that there's something else on me that might need to be healed, would that work?"

Her eyes lit up like a child's on Fire Nation Day. "Of course! Did you hurt yourself again?"

I felt myself blushing. "You say 'again' as if I've really hurt myself before."

"Well, first you cut your palm open in the kitchen. Then you fell and hurt yourself when you and Sokka were training. And then you threw yourself in the way of one of my ice spears when I was training with Toph, and—"

"Oh, alright, I get it," I snapped, wondering if I really _was_ that clumsy, or being around them made me that way. "Can I tell you what's wrong, now?"

"Of course." That salve, however she made it and whatever she put into it, really made my shoulder feel amazing. "What's wrong?"

"Well...this is going to sound weird, and I know that it's a little personal, but I consider you my Healer, because you've helped me so much..." I had to take a deep breath, because I knew that I was rambling. She raised an eyebrow, encouraging for me to go on. "Alright, uh...so, I know that you're old enough to know about cycles."

Her hands on my arm instantly stopped, and I knew that she was blushing, but I couldn't look at her, I was so embarrassed! "Yeah. Of course I do. And you know that I'm only a year younger than you! But..." She cleared her throat, obviously as embarrassed as I was, and said, "What about it do you want to know?"

I took another deep breath, wondering if I really should tell her this or not. "Well, I never had a woman around to tell me things, and I know that you did. I know all of the basics, but...ah..." Finally, the heat in my face was so strong that I couldn't' finish. "Nevermind. It was a stupid question, anyways."

"Nothing about this is stupid," she said sincerely, and I looked up to see that her eyes were very curious, almost..._friendly_. "We're both girls here, Emiko. You can ask me anything."

I took another deep breath. _Alright, here goes... _"Is it..._normal_...for a girl to miss a cycle or two?"

**_Aang_**

Aang was flying through the clouds on his glider, trying to ignore the pain that had shown up mentally and physically. Flying over open water, he winced from his wounds, knowing that at least_ that_ one was hard to block out. The mental one could be easier, only if he concentrated on flying... He lost altitude and almost hit the water before regaining control.

He glided barely a foot over the ocean. The wing of his glider dipped into the water as Aang tried to keep control. Aang looked right to a blockade of Fire Nation ships. "Blockade."

He took a huge breath, collapsed his glider, and dove into the water. Aang torpedoed through the water and under the blockade, scaring away three green Seal-Iguanas. He popped out of the water on the other side, and caught his breath, wondering if he'd ever felt this exhausted in his life, even when he hadn't gotten any sleep after being chased by Azula.

That was when he spotted a large peace of driftwood and swam over to it, suddenly getting an idea. He attached his glider to it and started windsurfing, making everything much easier, at least until it started raining. He struggled to hang on as the board bounced high into the air. Next he hit the water, but wiped out, hitting hte water so hard that he'd gone blank for a moment. His glider went flying somehwere as he tried to surface, but the current was so strong, he didn't know if he could stay up...

A bolt of lightning hit in the sky when he surfaced, and he clutched the driftwood to his chest. Aang desperately tried to hang on to the driftwood and not be swept away. He reached out to his glider as it floated further away. He yelled as he was caught in a huge wave and was plunged beneath the water. _This is it...I'm done..._ Somehow, he found enough strength to surface again, and he swam back up and grabbed a hold of the driftwood. "I'm not gonna make it," he sobbed, digging his face into his arms. "I failed…"

There was another flash of lightning, and Aang felt a presence. The spirit of Avatar Roku appeared before him.

"Roku?" he asked, feeling as if he were dreaming.

"You haven't failed, Aang."

"But everyone thinks I'm dead again. They think I've abandoned them, and I'm losing this war. I'm letting the whole world down…"

"If anyone is to blame for the state of the world, it is I. I should've seen this war coming, and prevented it. You inherited my problems and my mistakes. But I also believe you are destined to redeem me, and save the world."

"I don't know…" Aang sobbed, wishing that he was stronger, wishing that he could be older, have more experience, so that none of this would seeem so hopeless.

A beam of moonlight was suddenly cast over him, and he looked up, shielding his eyes from the harsh light. "You already saved the world," the familiar voice of Yue said softly, and he saw her form appear in the sky. He wanted to reach up to her and give her a hug, to tell her that he was sorry for everything, but he knew that she wasn't real; this all had to be a dream. The moon was shining through the clouds, and the spirit of Yue appeared in front of it. "And you'll save the world again, but you can't give up."

The sun started to rise in the background, suddenly, making Yue dim only slightly. The rising sun brought another, brighter, warmer beam of light, and Aang heard a voice... "You do not know me, young Avatar, but I am the current Spirit of the Sun. You are meant to do great things, and will accomplish that. Listen to what my sister spirit and I are saying. Do not give up; you can't. If you do, the whole world will plummet with you."

Yue and the Sun Spirit descended towards Aang, and all he could do was stare in wonder. He knew that this was a dream, but then again, wierd stuff like this happened all the time to him! Maybe he was dilusional, maybe all of this was real! He felt himself starting to become determined, and he looked up into the opposite eyes of the two spirits. "You're right…I won't give up."

Aang waved his arm in a circle, suddenly feeling empowered. He bended a large wave of water behind him, pushing him forward. He climbed on top of the driftwood and rode it like a surfboard, feeling so determined that he was almost scared of it. He even waved his hands to both sides and picked up speed. Yue, her back to Aang, raised her arms, making the wave grow even higher. She ascended back towards the moon while the Sun Spirit made the sun rise higher in the air. Her hair flowed a bright red around her as a volcano leaked lava at the Crescent Moon Isle. She ascended back into the sun. Lava trails flowed from the top of the volcano and down into the sea. Aang landed on a part of the shore where the Sun Spirit had made sure that it hadn't touched.

**_Emiko_**

He was lying unconscious on the rocky shore. For a moment, I'd thought that he was dead, and I felt a wracking sob take me start to come out, but then a soft light touched my back, the clouds clearing from teh sky, the sun coming out. I felt, more than knew, that Aang was alive, as if his life force was flowing through me. _Or maybe it isn't Aang's, but..._

Suddenly Momo jumped onto Aang's chest and licked his cheek, awakening him. The small leamur hopped off him as he groaned and sat up. Katara ran to Aang faster than any of us, but I knew that he was okay. Sokka, Toph, and I followed after.

The Water Tribe girl dropped to her knees and hugged Aang's head, giving it a few kisses and pretty much suffocating the boy. "You're okay!"

Toph, Sokka, Momo and Appa all gathered around and formed a group hug while I stayed back and kicked a rock into the water. _I'm not a part of their group...I never really was.__ I don't belong with them_.

What Katara had told me, earlier, before finding out that Aang had run away... I hoped, really hoped, that she was wrong. _"Emiko, __it's__ normal for a skipped cycle. But two? That might mean..."_

_"What? That I might not be abl__e to have children?" That was one of my worst fears in this world, not being able to have a child._

_"No," she said, her eyes suddenly very, very wide. "You could be...pregnant."_

I held my face in my hands and walked faster, not to mention a little farther away than I should've and saw something black in the sand. Normally, I wouldn't have been surprised, and I thought that perhaps it was just a pretty shell. But something about it made me want to pick it up, so I did. I picked it up and wiped the seaweed off. _It's__...a..._

It was a betrothal necklace.

The black stone was gorgeous, so shiny and smooth and wonderful in my palm. It's onyx glory was carved with a golden dragon that circled to the center where a white sun that shone bright, and it was held by a simple gold ribbon that looked pretty new, but something inside me started to make my entire body shake.

I started to feel woozy. I gripped the necklace even harder. _Was this what Zuko was going to give me…_? I asked myself, feeling my heartrate build, and I almost fell to my knees in the sand, but I managed to stay up, just because I found something else in the water. And, thank Agni, it wasn't something that ruined my life, either. I bent down and grabbed Aang's broken and burnt glider from out of the water. "Aang," I called over, feeling rather sorry for the work of art. "It's your glider." I handed it to Aang, feeling rather sorry for myself, too, because I'd just broken up what had appeared to be a really intimate moment.

"That's okay," he told me softly, but I could tell that he was torn up about it. "If someone saw it, it would give away my identity. It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive." Aang turned around and jumped onto a mound that trickled out lava. He looked down solemnly, spun the glider above his head, and slammed it into the lava end first before jumping away. It ignited and was consumed by the flames. A piece of its wood flew off and landed in front of me.

"Don't give up, Aang," I said, going toward the cutter which Sokka had gotten out for me, thank goodness. "Everything will work out." _I hope,_ I thought, putting my hand on my stomach.

He got a look on his face that didn't seem right. He looked as if he really didn't want me to leave. "Where are you going?"

I started untying the boat from the large rock that it'd been tied to, glad that the tide wasn't in to pull it out of my hands. "Thanks to your running away, we're the closest we will ever be again to the capital. I need to get going."

And, of course, he'd thought of what everyone else had thought of, to try and keep me with them. "Why don't you stay here and teach me Firebending?"

I shook my head, giving out a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. First of all, you need to gain more strength. Secondly, I'm not a master Firebender. And third, _I_ need to destroy the inside of the capital while _you_ destroy the outside."

"But your mother is the Sun Spirit!" Aang protested, and suddenly I flinched, watching everyone around me gaze at me in wonder, exactly like I hadn't _wanted_ them to. "I saw her! You would be the best teacher for me!"

"Yes, I know. Just because my lineage is spiritual, doesn't mean that I'm the most powerful Firebender in the world, or the one to teach _you_," I told him solemnly, trying to ignore the pain that my brain wanted me to feel.

He tired to continue his argument, but Sokka shook his head. "I don't think that Emiko is supposed to be your Firebending teacher, Aang."

_Thank you, Sokka, even if you never did want me on your team. _"No, I'm not. You need to find someone who has had more experience and isn't a spirit in training. I am in touch with the sun, but you need someone even more so…like Uncle. He would be the best teacher. I wish you luck, Avatar Aang." I bowed to him, like I would to anyone who was worthier than I.

He bowed back, even though he really didn't even have to. I turned, ready to jump into the cutter, but he called out to me, "_Wait!_" He picked up a piece of his staff that had fallen away and placed it in my palm. "Take this and give it to them. It might help them believe you."

I nodded, suddenly getting an idea.. "I should take something from each of you. Anything can help."

Katara nodded and took down her hair loops. She handed me a bead that held one of them up. Sokka handed me a Water Tribe spear. Toph gave me her Earth Kingdom headband. Aang went over to Appa and cut off a piece of his fur.

I took all of these things and put them into my pack, along with that damning necklace. "Good luck to all of you. Be watching for a red Fire Nation falcon. I'll send him after you with a map of the Fire Nation and a diagram of the capital."

"We will," Aang said, a strange look in his pretty grey eyes.

Katara, her motherly look appearing on her face, suddenly touched my arm, something strange on her dark face. "Please... Be careful."

"I don't know the meaning of the word, Waterbender," I said softly, even giving a small laugh. "Because there's nothing careful about this at all."

* * *

**Here's the next installment! Butttt, I decided to keep it with Part II. There really was no reason to make a new story, I just figured I'd keep the watchers that I've got and I don't really want to annoy you! So, PART III, it is!**

**Thanks, everybody, for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I really do like it. A lot!**

**Here's a look at the next chapter!**

"Thank you, Captain Yat-Sen," I said with a formal bow. "I've been out at sea for a few days, now."

His handsome hazel eyes narrowed in a familiar, topaz-only-eyes way, which really made my heart sink. I also noticed that three or four Firebenders surrounded both of us, as if I'd run. "I'd like to know why, Miss..."

I'd even thought this part through, no matter how much I hated to admit it. "Zhao. _Commander _Zhao." _Sorry, Jasmine, but I'm going to impersonate you for a while. You so owe me. _

He looked surprised that I had a rank, let alone such a prominent name. "I...I'm sorry, Commander," he said, giving me a bow back. "I didn't know-"

"Of course you didn't." I put on what I called "the Jasmine look" and stared down each of the men that surrounded us. "Though some of you, I wouldn't be surprised if I trained you _myself_. How in Koh's name could you not recognize me?"

"W-we're sorry, Commander," one of the men said, bowing to me nervously. "We thought that you were with Princess Azula at the Captial."

"Yes, you _thought_." _Hm...playing Jasmine is pretty fun!_ "_If_ it is any of your business, I was out fighting off a hoard of rebels who wanted to attack the Capital with Waterbenders on a full moon . Needless to say...I easily disposed of them."

It was fun, watching how the men acted around me now that they knew that I was _Jasmine Zhao_, scourge of the Fire Nation Academy for Girls _and_ Boys. I just really hoped that no one on this ship _really_ knew Jasmine, or they'd figure out that I was a fake. Which didn't seem to be happening, so that was pretty good.

_Alright...now let's just not run into Jasmine, shall we?_


	20. Returns

**So, hmm...that was a big twist at the end back there! Lets just say that wayyy more is to come! In this chapter, Emiko takes the identity of someone she's close to, and returns to the Fire Nation! But wait...isn't that person already **_**in**_** the Fire Nation? Just go ahead and read!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. But Jasmine and Emiko are mine, so please let them be!****Emiko Returns**

* * *

**Emiko Returns**

I knew that all of this was wrong. That going back to the Fire Nation, lying to everyone who knew me, and keeping the secret of a child from Zuko was _all_ wrong. But I had to do this. If not for the Avatar, then for myself. This was all so that I could breathe happier, so that I could really live my life, even if the love of my life had betrayed me.

All I knew was that I couldn't turn back now. Katara had tried to convince me to stay, so that I could be safe and that my child could be safe, but I couldn't let this hinder me. So, what, I was one, two months pregnant? Who cared? I knew women who did their jobs when they were ready to burst, like Missy, back in the Earth Kingdom, I could do it, too.

Even _if_ my child would be the Crown Prince or Princess of the Fire Nation.

I took a deep breath as I navigated my cutter through the waters that had just been raging not too long ago. I couldn't get nervous now! My plan, though hardly foolproof, would at least get me into the city, and then I could make plans for after that. Whether I saw Zuko or not, whether I saw Azula, or my sister, I'd have to play the simple Fire Nation soldier who only wanted to help her country.

_Ick_. Well, I couldn't be happy _all_ the time. The Spirits made sure of that.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

_Ah, well, here goes nothing..._ I cleared my throat, wondering how I could have missed the large, Fire Nation Armada ship coming up behind me. "My ship was destroyed in the storm! I got picked up by this cutter a small family owned! They allowed me to take their cutter to the mainland!" Did that sound as lame as I thought it did?

Well, apparently not, because the man called, "Bring it around to the back, we'll pull you in."

I let out a breath of relief, thanking Agni that this part of my plan had worked. I would have either had to dock on the mainland and explain why I had a stolen cutter, or I'd be brought up onto a ship. Which was happening now.

"Thanks," I said as a man helped me out of the ship. He was kind of cute, in a Fire nation way. Thick brown hair tight to his head, with deep hazel eyes that wanted to pull you in. I noticed that he was a captain. "Captain...?"

"Yat-Sen."

"Thank you, Captain Yat-Sen," I said with a formal bow. "I've been out at sea for a few days, now."

His handsome hazel eyes narrowed in a familiar, topaz-only-eyes way, which really made my heart sink. I also noticed that three or four Firebenders surrounded both of us, as if I'd run. "I'd like to know why, Miss..."

I'd even thought this part through, no matter how much I hated to admit it. "Zhao. _Commander _Zhao." _Sorry, Jasmine, but I'm going to impersonate you for a while. You so owe me. _

He looked surprised that I had a rank, let alone such a prominent name. "I...I'm sorry, Commander," he said, giving me a bow back. "I didn't know-"

"Of course you didn't." I put on what I called "the Jasmine look" and stared down each of the men that surrounded us. "Though some of you, I wouldn't be surprised if I trained you _myself_. How in Koh's name could you not recognize me?"

"W-we're sorry, Commander," one of the men said, bowing to me nervously. "We thought that you were with Princess Azula at the Captial."

"Yes, you _thought_." _Hm...playing Jasmine is pretty fun!_ "_If_ it is any of your business, I was out fighting off a hoard of rebels who wanted to attack the Capital with Waterbenders on a full moon . Needless to say...I easily disposed of them."

It was fun, watching how the men acted around me now that they knew that I was _Jasmine Zhao_, scourge of the Fire Nation Academy for Girls _and_ Boys. I just really hoped that no one on this ship _really_ knew Jasmine, or they'd figure out that I was a fake. Which didn't seem to be happening, so that was pretty good.

"How exactly did you lose your ship, if I may ask," Captain Yat-Sen said as his servent served us tea in his personal quarters. I glared at him, and he quickly added, "_C-Commander_," to the end.

I picked up my cup and sniffed it, instantly feeling disgusted. Tea wasn't tea unless Iroh made it, so I set it back down again. "I told you, the storm took out my ship. A few emergency ships were sent out, but I haven't seen any of my men or women. If you see any loose ships, Captain, please pick them up."

"How did you manage to get away?" he asked, obviously one of the nosiest Captains that I'd ever met. "If you don't mind my asking."

"I do, actually, but I'll tell you," I said, wishing that I could shove this man's helmet up his velvet-lined butt. He had the decency to look abashed, at least. "I can swim, unlike ninety-five percent of the Fire Nation. I've decided that we all need to learn."

"Impressive," he said, suddenly applying a sly look to his tin lips. His voice was a purr. "I wouldn't mind learning from the one and only Jasmine Zhao..."

_Alright. Getting a little creepy for me._ I instantly stood up, wondering what Jasmine would say in an instance like this. "Let's get one thing straight, you insolent little pig! I am your commanding officer! In no way should you be treating me like this!" Oh, yeah, I was on a roll. "_If_ I decided I would ever want to teach you, it would be in a synchronized group of trainees, with my _betrothed _watching behind me!" _Mighta__ laid it on a little thick, but..._

"I-I-I'm sorry, Commander!" _Huh. Worked like a charm. Maybe I shouldn't have added the whole 'betrothed' part, but hey, whatever works._

I turned my back on him, placing my hands behind my back as I stared at the symbol of our Nation that was hanging against the wall. "We will be arriving in the Fire Nation within the hour. Notify me when we dock."

_**Zuko**_

What to do that wasn't taken care of already for you? When he woke up, he was catered to by everyone, doing things around him that he could have easily taken care of on his own. They dressed him, brushed his teeth, and would have fed him, if he'd allowed it. He had to draw the line _somewhere_.

Still, it was pretty amazing to be waited on hand and foot.

He was just getting dressed by his servants in his old quarters, (which had been outfitted to be for him now that he was older,) when he heard a commotion outside the palace. Or more of outside the gates. Even though it was so far away, he could still hear the screams and shouts of the many guards that surrounded the Capital. His servants paid no mind, as if this happened every day, but he looked out his windows and saw many, many plumes of fire outside of the main gates.

"I'm going to go check that out," Zuko said to his assistant, who instantly looked wary.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, my Prince," she said, her pretty brown hair pulled up around her face in small curls. If the curls had been black, he might have actually found her attractive. And if her eyes hadn't been brown, but a strange, transparent yellow... He shook his head and tried to listen to what she was saying. "It is probably just another rogue Firebender who wants to take down the Royal family. Nothing to worry about."

But still, Zuko wasn't so sure. He told her that he would check it out anyways, even if it wasn't the "correct" thing to do. He'd been messing things up a lot, lately, about what a Royal was expected to do and not do. But he deserved a little slack. He'd only been gone for three years!

Still, he didn't think that he wanted any slack on this. He was just about to leave his room when there was an urgent knock, and the Royal messenger flew through his door. "Prince Zuko! Your presence is required in the front courtyard _ri__ght now_!"

"I was just heading there." Apparently this was urgent, because everyone around him was running, so he decided to pick up the pace, too. He was running hard and fast, the sounds of fire and shouting becoming louder as he got closer and closer to the front courtyard. The first thing he saw was that half of the courtyard was burned to a crisp. He saw ten, maybe fifteen guards surrounding something small, fighting some_one_.

Whoever it was, their Firebending was superb. He was fending off the soldiers as if they were first year children in their respective Academies! His flames, bright, almost white with how hot they were, decimated the entire courtyard.

Zuko wanted to call something out, to ask who this person was, but for some reason, he faltered, as if he knew the person. The hair on the top of his or her head was boy short, thick and black as night. The skin that wasn't hidden by a thick wrap around their torso and baggy training pants was tan for a noble's but he could tell that this person had to be. The person was thin, almost too thin, and far too short for the age he was making the stranger out to be.

"Stop it!" came a loud, demanding voice, and Zuko looked over to see that Jasmine Zhao, one of Azula's right hand women and Emiko's older sister, was standing in the midst of a bunch of singed bodies, looking a little worse for wear. "Stop it _now_! Tell me who the Abyss you are, or so help me Agni...!" She was standing with fire in her hands, her breath coming in heaves, her eyes wild and crazy. "Tell me _NOW_!"

The soldiers around the person slowly backed away, and Zuko saw that the person was actually a woman. She was rather pretty, in a disheveled way. "Do you really want to know, Jasmine?" she asked in a scarily-familiar voice. "Really?"

Jasmine, her eyes enraged, suddenly threw a large fireball at the girl, who simply held up her hand and extinguished it. "Who the Abyss are you?" she demanded, breathing heavily. "Who do you think you are, impersonating _me_?"

"Your sister."

There was a surprised hush that went out through the courtyard. Jasmine, for a moment, had looked surprised, but now the flames in her hands died and she was looking at her sister in wonder. The soldiers surrounding her looked at each other in confusion, trying to decide what to do. And Zuko...he didn't know _what_ to do. All he could do was look at her, drink her in with his eyes.

She was in Fire Nation gear, or at least part of her was. She was wearing one armored shoulder pad, on her left shoulder, and had the thick, baggy black pants of Domestic Infantry forces. Her feet were bare, as was her darker-than-normal stomach. All that was covering her breasts was the wrapping around an apparent wound. Her hair was so short, it was above her ears and sticking up in places, as if it had just been randomly chopped off. And her eyes...they were like they had been when he'd first met her: a bright, transparent yellow that had so much fire in it that he felt as if she were burning his very soul.

"Guards!" came Azula's sharp voice from behind him. The soldiers stood at attention, and Zuko looked behind him to see that his sister had come out of the castle, looking rather irritated that she'd been woken up. "Take a hold of that traitor."

Most of them looked slightly hesitant, but two of them grasped Emiko's arms and pushed her onto her knees. She didn't fight; she only looked around at her destruction and seemed very, very proud of it. Zuko couldn't move, as his mind willed him to, but Azula could. She moved over to Emiko, who was glancing straight ahead of her, her face emotionless. And strangely..._she didn't say anything._

"Why are you here?" Azula asked softly, menacingly, as she stood over the girl. But again, Emiko didn't say anything. Zuko's sister, who he'd already thought was slightly crazy, grasped Emiko's short hair and pulled her head up to look her in the eyes. "Answer me!"

Emiko bright, transparent eyes never wavered from her Princess's. "I...I'm here to clear my name."

"By taking _mine_?" Jasmine asked, enraged, running up to her sister's side. "What in Koh's name is wrong with you?"

Emiko smirked, looking into Jasmine's dull hazel eyes, which Zuko thought would be a little difficult considering Azula still had a grasp on her hair. "Everything."

Azula, enraged with the thought of her soldiers being decimated, grasped Emiko's shoulder pad and ripped it off, digging her nails into the girl's shoulder. "I should have you _killed_!" Emiko showed her emotions for the first time in a cry that made Zuko move instantly. He couldn't stand seeing the pain on her face or hearing the agony in her voice.

So when Zuko was by all three of them, grasping Azula's wrist and removing her hand from Emiko's shoulder, the entire courtyard went quiet again. He was sure that this would be another reason to get him banished, but he knew that he had to do this. It didn't matter that Azula was so furious that heat was radiating off of her, or that Jasmine was staring at both of them as if they were on fire. All that he cared about was that Emiko was looking at him, that her face was close enough that he could take a hold of it and caress every part of its soft, clear skin.

It didn't matter. Especially when he said, "Lets hear her out." He looked up at the guards and said, in the most menacing voice that he possibly could, "_Release her_."

"But sir!"

He glared at the man who had spoken out at him, and he slowly released Emiko's arm. "That's what I thought." She held her nose up at both of the men, slowly standing up, so that no one would think that she was about to attack again. Zuko felt the worst when she grasped her arm, a slightly green tone over her skin from the pain. "Now," he said, giving a look to his sister before turning to look at the one woman who he thought he loved, "tell me...why are you here?"

Emiko looked speechless for a moment, her beautiful eyes looking directly into his, her soft petal lips parting, looking as if she was ready to kiss him, or tell him something that would really knock his socks off.

Which is exactly what she did, with, "I killed the Avatar's companions."

_**Emiko**_

Everything had been perfect. I'd gotten off of the docks with a handsome escort, walked through the city as a respected Commander of the Fire Nation Armada, and everything had been simply wonderful.

At least until I'd made it to the gates.

We'd been walking. It had been Captain Yat-Sen and I. He was due at the capital for a training session, and I was "Jasmine," and everyone knew that Jasmine was one of Azula's cronies. So I was as good as gold, at least until I saw my sister, and then everything would be dampened. To tell the truth, I'd thought that I'd been home free. But, as always, I was wrong.

The second we'd made it to the gates and had announced ourselves, one of the guards had asked himself a simple question: _Did Commander Jasmine really leave?_ So of course he asked another soldier, who asked another, and word got into the castle. But, before my sister had gotten outside, I'd seen a few guards coming towards me, so I'd known that my cover had been blown. I'd taken off my armor, protecting my bad shoulder with one pad, and I'd attacked.

Which had gotten me here, holding my arm in agonizing pain, and looking into the eyes of the guy I'd thought I'd loved, but now I'd have to pretend that I loved him so that I could survive and not be killed, probably like Uncle had been. And it also got me the look on the guy's that I'd thought I'd loved face, which was utter horror and confusion.

"_What_?" Azula asked, fury upon her flawless face. I just kept thinking, _Damn, why didn't I kill her when I had the chance!_ I'd had the chance a long time ago to do something about her, and I never had.

"I _said,_" I whispered softly, trying to meet her damning dull topaz eyes, "that I killed the Avatar's companions."

"Liar!" Azula shouted, sending her hand back across my face. My face stung, and she'd hit me so hard that my head had snapped to the side, but I wouldn't be hurt from anything. "You're a traitor, Emiko Zhao!"

I had to take a deep breath in order not to hit her. I really did. But finally I got my anger under control and I slowly moved my hands towards the pack around my hips, picking up the singed material and opening the pouch. My hands didn't shake as I threw the materials I'd gotten from the Avatar's companions out on the ground at Azula's feet. "Am I?" I asked, finally able to meet her gaze. She looked down onto it, her eyes going wide for a moment.

Zuko, on the other hand, didn't bother looking at her. Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about him. When I'd first seen him there, watching me as I'd fought the guards in his once-pristine courtyard, I'd only thought that I'd hoped that he was proud of what I'd become. The training that I'd done with Sokka had helped me with my weapons, and training with Katara had helped with my Firebending. Toph had helped with my hand-to-hand combat. So I'd hoped that he was proud.

At the moment, he seemed shocked, but I definitely saw something along the line of pride in his expression. Maybe it was possession, or maybe it was just his damned pride, but something inside me stirred, and I wanted him to take me into his arms and hold me and tell me that everything would be alright.

"I'm not a traitor," I said simply, looking into his beautiful eyes and wishing that he would get the shocked look off of his face and really say something to me. I'd been gratified that he'd saved my shoulder from further pain, (even though he'd been the one who'd given me the burn in the first place,) but I hadn't needed his help. "I told you that I wasn't."

The look of relief that washed over his face was so pure and...well, _relieved_, that he actually took a step back and gave out one short, heartfelt laugh. Jasmine, in her usual way, sighed and ruffled my hair, giving my head a little shove. And Azula, well...I wasn't sure what the look on her face was, whether it was confusion or anger or a mixture of them both, but I wasn't sure that I liked it.

She bent down to pick up Toph's headband, muttering something about an Earthbender. And she did the same with each of them, naming out everyone. She even picked up the piece of Aang's glider. "Why did you come back, knowing that we would call you a traitor?" she asked softly, not able to meet my eyes.

"I was scared." Was it even that simple? "I'd just fought against the Princess of the Fire Nation for taking away the life that I had thought had been perfect. I knew that if I had given myself up, like Iroh, then something would have happened to me, and I wouldn't have been able to tell you that...that I was on your side the entire time. I was just..._scared_."

Azula gripped the tip of the Water Tribe spear in her hand, looking up at me with her murderous dull eyes. "You were wise to come back to us."

And, though it pained me to say it, I did say, "Thank you, Princess Azula," and bowed low and respectfully.

"Guards," she said in a rather monotone voice, "take her to the meeting hall."

"No!" Zuko said quickly, and my eyes instantly caught his. They were nervous and yet strangely determined. Azula was getting the enraged look again, so he tried to fix the situation. "I mean...take her to my room."

"Do you think that is wise?" a small woman behind him asked. I didn't really like her. She had wide doe eyes that were rather pretty, and thick, luscious brown hair that was piled all on top of her head in a fashionable way. Not to mention the fact that she was rather fashionable, in the way she was dressed. All I kept thinking was, _My eyes are rather squinty... And my__ hair? I cut it all off! Agni, what am I __**wearing**__?_ "My Prince," she added quickly, giving a soft bow.

Zuko didn't even look at her, though, which really inflated my ego. "Take. Her. To my room."

I wanted to look at her and say, "_You heard him!"_ But that was juvenile. So, when the guards took one of my arms each, I made sure that I caught her eye before I was really taken away, and I stuck my tongue out at her for good measure.

_**Zuko**_

Zuko was almost afraid that when he opened the door to his room, that she somehow wouldn't be there. But the guards that stood outside his door promised him that all of the windows and doors to his room were locked, and that no one had been in or out besides his assistant, who'd brought the girl some clothes. But strangely, when his assistant had left, she'd been slightly shaken up, her eyes frightened as she hurried away from the door.

Zuko took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart before it beat through his chest. And he opened the door. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but he hadn't really gotten it.

Emiko was standing at the locked door to his balcony, looking out onto the beautiful sunset that made the Fire Nation city below glow radiantly. She was dressed in a simple red and black Fire Nation kimono, one really not suited for one such as beautiful as her. It clung to her hips in a way that he didn't want anyone else to see but him, and her breasts were showing quite a bit. He felt a protectiveness wash over him that he hadn't felt in a long while, since Jet.

It took him a moment to get used to her hair. It was short and laid down more now that she wasn't fighting, but it made her look older, more mature. But at the same time, she was so much thinner that her curves were a lot smaller than they had been back in Ba Sing Se, so she looked much younger.

But still...he wanted to hold her. It didn't matter that her hair was short, or that she was in Fire Nation clothing now. All that mattered was that she was here, by his side, and was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.

"Emiko," he said softly, watching her emotionless face turn to him and turn into a gentle smile. This alone made him calm down a little, but at the same time he was so excited that she wasn't angry with him that he was just getting even more nervous.

"Zuko," she said back, just as softly, standing up from leaning against the wall. Neither of them made the move to get closer, but they just stood there and looked at each other, reveling in each other's presence. "Hey."

Zuko had to smile at her, saying, "Hey," back. She smiled even wider and closed her eyes, shaking her head. And when she opened them again, he was standing in front of her, wanting to hold her, but knowing better than to go that far. So instead he took her hand, glad that she didn't flinch, and looked into those gorgeous yellow eyes. "Why did you come back?" he asked, and he didn't realize that he was holding his breath until she smiled softly, giving his hand a squeeze.

"There was a man I knew, once," she said simply. She looked down at their hands, twining their fingers one way, then the other. "He always had this thing that he said...something about wanting his honor back." Emiko looked up at him, now, her face set in a completely natural, completely _Emiko_ smile. "I wanted my honor back."

"Is that what I tell the half of the Fire Nation that is waiting outside my room?" he asked softly, finally feeling as if a giant weight had been lifted off of his heart.

She smiled and took his other hand into hers, so that she was holding both. "You just smile and tell them that Emiko, the Daughter of the Sun Spirit, is in the Fire Nation where she...where she belongs."

* * *

**Aww, poor Emiko. She's stuck between the love she feels for him and the sorrow that has built up inside of her. Maybe one day she'll be able to tell him how she **_**really**_** feels...**

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter!**

My heartbeat was going wild, I _wanted_ something, and I had Zuko in my arms.

And so, obviously, something had to ruin the amazingly lust-filled moment. That was when a dagger landed right next to my ear.

Zuko froze in his attempts to find the opening tie to my "sarashi," as it was called, the thing that was wrapped around my shoulder and breasts. His lips were slowly removed from my neck, his hot breath creating goosebumps against my skin. "Who is it?" he breathed into my ear, and I could hear the sudden nervousness in his voice.

I narrowed my eyes at the woman in front of me. Her long, black hair was dull and pulled into two buns on either side of her head, part of her hair hanging down over her shoulders. Her pale, could-be-considered-beautiful face was set in fury, her black eyes blazing with it. I didn't even get to look at her clothing before she ran up to us with an audible scream of fury and pulled Zuko off of me, throwing him behind her. "Get your hands _off_ him!"


	21. Conflicts

**I'm sorry, guys, but its another short chapter! That first one just took writing long chapters out of me! In this chapter, Emiko wants to shy away from Zuko, but lets just say that that doesn't happen...(; And one certain dark-haired ninja just happens to walk in on something!**

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**Conflict Resolution**

I was so, _so_ relieved that Zuko hadn't tried to touch me in these past two weeks. At least not in the way that parts of my body _wanted_ him to. He hadn't as much come _near_ me since I'd been ordered to be taken to his room, let alone touch me, let alone _talk_ to me! He'd asked me those questions, had had a servant set up an adjoining room to his for me to stay in, and hadn't so much as looked at me since.

I knew that he was watching me now, in the training courtyard as I let out a little of my excess anger with a few guards who had been "given" to me. I knew that I wasn't allowed to leave my room, the dining hall, the kitchen, or the training yard, so I was going to use my "given" guards any damn way I pleased.

"What are you guys?" I demanded, standing up straight and taking a towel to wipe away my perspiration. They looked at me as if I were one of their own Commanders, not as if I were a small girl. "I'm an injured little girl. You're all Royal Fire Nation guards! One against four! Why the hell can I beat you with the simplest of moves?"

"Because their orders are not to hurt you," said that handsome, husky tenor voice that always sent shivers down my spine. I should have known that he was coming up behind me from the hairs on the back of my neck rising in that pleasurable way, but that also seemed to happen when I was either scared or angry. I turned to look him in the eyes, and, of course, my breath hitched just a little, (though I refused to admit it,) and I, of course, wanted to hold him and kiss him and all of those things I'd _been_ wanting to do for a long time. "Emiko..."

"Of course, my Prince," I said as stiffly as I possibly could, giving him a low, respectful bow. "I understand."

Zuko looked like I'd just punched him in the gut, so he took a deep breath and looked at me pointedly. "You don't have to call me that, Emiko."

_Oh, I don't? Really..._ "But you _are_ my Prince," I said softly, trying not to meet his eyes as I'd seen all the other women do. "If you wish me to call you something else, then I will."

"Call me whatever _you _want to call me, Emiko. I don't want you to say my name if you think that I'm ordering you to do it." And, for a moment, I felt as if he was squeezing my heart again. There was a pain on his face that I didn't want to see. But he quickly took a hold of the situation and turned it around, suddenly saying, "I need you to come with me."

Something inside of me jumped at the chance to go anywhere with him, to instantly wrap my arms around him the second that we were alone, but another part of me, (probably my shoulder that was throbbing at the moment,) told me that I shouldn't, because I _would_ do those things. But I still couldn't say no. I was acting at the moment, acting as if I was completely loyal to the Fire Nation and everyone involved. So, being the wonderfully horrible actor that I was, I actually had to follow him. Thank the Spirits, the guards didn't follow us.

He didn't stop to look at me as he kept walking, I just followed a few steps behind, ready to answer whatever question he wanted. Just, hopefully, it wasn't about _us_. "Emiko," he said simply, in a tone that was meant to be taken very serious, "I've been watching you practice with the guards."

"I know."

This seemed to rile him a bit, but he just kept walking and he didn't turn back. "I've been arguing your case with all of the leverage that I possess, but no one seems to think that you are really on our side." This news sent a cold, harsh knife right into my deepest fears. "But they've considered one way to prove it to them." He turned around to me at this point, stopping our little stroll through the palace, and he gently took my hands into his before I could even think to stop him from doing it. "Emiko," he said softly, making me look into his bright, golden irises, "The war council has given me the details of what they need you to do in order to be welcomed back into our good graces."

_So that means that I'm__ not in _your_ good graces, _I thought sadly, looking down to our intertwined hands. "And what exactly are these details...?"

He released one of my hands, leaving me feeling cold and alone, only to cup my chin and make me look up at him. All I could see was how soft his lips were, or how amazingly strong his hands felt on me. But what he said kind of ruined the moment. "They want you to train our domestic forces."

You know that moment where it feels like cold water has been doused over your entire body? That was that moment. I pulled my hand from his, not sure how I was supposed to act, now. Was I just supposed to run into his arms like my body wanted me to? Was I supposed to jump at this opportunity to train his forces to fight against everyone that I held near and dear? "_What_?"

He cleared his throat and looked down to the ground. "I can see that this doesn't sound—"

"No, no," I said quickly, waving my hands in front of me. Zuko looked slightly hurt, as if I had just turned down his own love in his face. "I-I'll do it."

"You'll do it?" he asked incredulously, a small, childish gleam of happiness appearing on his handsome face. "Really?" I nodded, and he raced forwards, wrapping his arms around me and swinging me around in a flying hug. For a moment, I pictured what would have happened had he gotten to propose. I would have said yes, and he would have picked me up and twirled me around, much like this, before setting me down, looking me in the eyes, and kissing me, oh so softly...

His lips were hot underneath mine, and even as my arms wound around his strong, muscular neck, I couldn't help but deepen the kiss. His hands ran around my waist, down to my hips, pulling us closer together in a need that I hadn't felt in a long time. I wanted him to lay me down onto that large bed in his room and take me, just like he had those many times in my bed or his back in Ba Sing Se. I wanted to pull off that stuffy robe that he always had to wear according to those stupid Fire Nation nobles and run my hands down his wonderful chest.

I felt my back being pushed up against the nearest wall, and his hands gripped my hips against his in a primal need. His lips were pulled from mine and ran down my neck, sucking, teasing, biting my one sensitive spot that he'd found, making my legs shake beneath us. I started clawing at his robes, trying to find how to open the damned things. And you know, I felt more alive in those few moments than I had in a very long while. My heartbeat was going wild, I _wanted_ something, and I had Zuko in my arms.

And so, obviously, something had to ruin the amazingly lust-filled moment. That was when a dagger landed right next to my ear.

Zuko froze in his attempts to find the opening tie to my "sarashi," as it was called, the thing that was wrapped around my shoulder and breasts. His lips were slowly removed from my neck, his hot breath creating goosebumps against my skin. "Who is it?" he breathed into my ear, and I could hear the sudden nervousness in his voice.

I narrowed my eyes at the woman in front of me. Her long, black hair was dull and pulled into two buns on either side of her head, part of her hair hanging down over her shoulders. Her pale, could-be-considered-beautiful face was set in fury, her black eyes blazing with it. I didn't even get to look at her clothing before she ran up to us with an audible scream of fury and pulled Zuko off of me, throwing him behind her. "Get your hands _off_ him!" she shouted as she did this, pulling out a few daggers and aiming them at me.

I held up my hands in defense, really not wanting to be hurt _or_ hurt her. "Mai...listen to me," I said softly, in a voice that I hoped was soothing. She looked as if she didn't want to be reasoned with, though. "It was..." _Wait. What was it? A heated__ kiss that almost led to something else? Yup. Pretty much. I wonder how angry she'd be if she knew that I'd already slept with him and that I was pregnant with his child. Still don't know what I'm going to do about that, but hey, at least I'm not showi__ng. _

_Yet._

"It was _what_, Emiko?" she asked, putting venom into her words. Zuko, behind her, looked frightened about this conflict, as if he'd never really wanted this to occur. "I know that as Zuko's _betrothed_, that he is allowed to have certain..._consor__ts_. But to seduce him here, out in the _open_? You...you _whore_!"

Alright. I had been willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, seeing as how they'd had something a long time ago, that they'd been projected to be married in the future. But all of that had changed when he'd been banished. All of that had changed when he'd almost _proposed to me._ And things had definitely changed with me about that word when a few certain crew members had called me the "captain's whore."

So, feeling slightly dizzy with anger, I stepped forwards, trying not to bring forth fire into my hands but failing miserably. "Call me a whore..._one more time_." The heat surrounding us rose, and she looked slightly less sure of herself.

"Only a whore would act like _you_," she sneered baring five daggers in each hand, obviously ready to attack.

"You said it," I growled, and then I felt myself attacking. I couldn't really feel what was happening, only see it as if I were watching, not really _doing._ My right fist was punched out, only to collide with the palm of her hand. She threw some daggers, somehow managing to dodge a few more of my fiery fists, but still, I won out. I couldn't stop myself as I fell to the floor, kicking my legs out in some move that even _I_ didn't understand, feeling slightly shocked that she somehow managed to grasp one of my ankles and throw me to the side.

I stood up, angry and determined. Mai blocked each and every one of my punches, making me purse my lips in anger and determination. Instead I brought my knee up to get her in the stomach, but she noticed my intentions and quickly got out of the way.

"Fight me without your weapons!" I yelled, dodging yet another rush of daggers sent at my head. I rolled on the ground after I lost my balance before jumping back up, wanting to rip the sly smile off of her damned face.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" she taunted, holding out one arm with her dart-throwing weapon under her sleeve. I rushed her, and she dodged the uppercuts, using her forearms to block the next blows. She then ducked and rolled as I kicked up at her face, then rolled behind me and hit the soft area behind my knee. I only staggered instead of falling. She rolled again as my foot came down

"Mai, Emiko stop this!" I vaguely heard from somewhere behind us, but I couldn't stop now, not now that she'd insulted me in the worst way possible. _Zuko is mine. Even if he broke my heart by leaving me. He is MINE!_

I knew that Mai felt the blow that I landed into her gut, and she doubled over, receiving an elbow right in the back for good measure. I reveled in the groan that she gave, trying to catch her breath. I stood over her, waiting for her to get up, waiting to knock her down again.

"Emiko, _stop_!" Zuko shouted, and I felt him grab my arms and pull me back against him. Both of his arms held me down against him, keeping me from doing anything else to her. "Stop it," he whispered into my ear as I struggled against him. I knew that if I really wanted to get out of his arms, then I could. But I didn't want to kill Mai. Actually, I respected her for trying to keep what was hers. But calling me a whore had gone too far.

"Let me go," I said to him through my teeth. "Let me go so that I can kill her."

"You don't want to do that," he said to me, soothingly, gently placing a kiss beneath my ear. I watched, infuriated, as Mai got up and dusted herself off.

She looked at me with venom in her eyes, sheathed her daggers, and then completely ignored me. "Zuko," she said simply, looking directly into his eyes, "I want you to choose. _Right now_. It's either her, or it's me."

"Mai…" he sighed, his head turning as if he were looking at me, and then looking at her. "You know that I can't choose between you. I-I've known you since I was a child, and Emiko is…"

"What is she, Zuko?" Mai asked venomously, and I could have sworn I saw…_Mai, are you crying? Oh, please don't cry…_

"Zuko," I said softly, suddenly feeling very woozy. _Mai is right. He's got to choose…either the girl he'd said he'd loved, or the girl__ who he was supposedly supposed to marry. Choose._ "Choose."

"I…" I knew that he had to be clenching his eyes, trying to make this hard decision. His arms loosened from around me, and I felt myself staggering. "Emiko?"

"I-I'm fine," I said, though maybe it was more of a wheeze, and I felt very, very unsteady on my feet. Mai, next to me, looked at me as if I were just doing this for attention.

Though it's kind of hard to do something for attention when you fall face-first onto the ground, instantly becoming unconscious.

_**No clock or windows, so who knows how much later…**_

There was a foggy coating over my eyes as I opened them. My body ached, though a nice feeling was settling over me as something was touched to my lips.

"Drink. It'll make you feel better." I recognized the voice, though kept on drinking. It was only water, but it really did make me feel better. Before, my throat had hurt. But now it felt much better as the cool liquid went down my throat. "Slowly, slowly…"

When I finished, I took a deep breath and tried to open my eyes again. I saw long, thick black hair pulled back into a ponytail, with thick, black-rimmed glasses and a long lab coat. Too bad that was all I could see. I tried to smile at my bad fortune. "Hey, Doc, haven't seen _you_ in a while. Where have you been?" I hadn't seen him since he'd healed me many-a-time back on Zuko's ship!

"I could ask you the same question," he snapped in an un-doctorly-like way. "Where have you been that you come back to me with third-degree burns on your entire shoulder, the shortest hair I've ever seen, and now you've taken to _fainting_?" He shook his head in disgust, holding up my wrist between his fingers, taking my pulse. "Well, your heartbeat is fine…" I really wanted to ask what was wrong with me, but drinking the water just felt wonderful. "Tell me, how long do you think you've been pregnant?"

Alright. You know how you see those theatrical shows where they have the spit-takes? You never thought that you yourself would ever have one. Well, I did right at that moment, all over Doc, and let me tell you, he didn't look happy. "_What?_"

"I take it that either you didn't know, or that you didn't want anyone _else_ to know," he said snobbishly as he wiped his glasses off on his long white lab coat.

"Y-you can't tell _anyone_!" I whispered frantically, feeling myself start to feel woozy again. _No…no, no, no! No one can know that I'm pregnant! And with—_

"I take it it's the Prince's?" he asked as if we were talking about the flowers over Sunday tea. From the shocked expression on my face, he probably figured that he was correct. "Right. Well, then, if you don't want to tell him, then I won't break the news, either. But how far are you along?"

"A-a little under three months," I said softly, trying to figure out where this guy got all of this information. Was he a little psychic, or was he just that good of a doctor? "How did you—?"

"It's quite obvious, if you look at the signs," he said simply, looking over a few pieces of parchment in his hands. "Though if you look at it another way, it could be anemia. You don't look as if you've been eating enough. I'm going to start you on a special Fire Nation diet, for only the most nutrient-specific foods. You're going to need to take a special mineral to sustain your hormones. Fire Nation fetuses are specifically vulnerable to the cold. I'll need you to…"

The things that he was saying really started to make my mind swim. I waved my hands in front of me, trying to keep back the tears of panic that threatened to show themselves. "St-stop. I-I can't do all of that; everyone will know I'm pregnant!" Then a thought hit me. "Wait…no one knows yet, right?"

"I told you that I haven't told anyone, so no one knows unless you've told them." He put down my medical history onto a small table at the end of my bed, suddenly looking me straight in the eyes with his coal black ones. "And you could feign anemia, meaning that you haven't been getting enough iron in your diet. Which I could fake by giving you a special diet. I don't like to lie, but in this case, I would swear to my grave that you only have anemia. With you carrying the Prince's child…"

It was strange to think of it that way. I looked at it as if I were carrying _Zuko's _baby, not the _Prin__ce's_. It was true that my child would be the Crown Prince or Princess of the Fire Nation. And it was true that I would probably have to run before he or she started to really show. But I also knew that the child would be loved, no matter what. "Th-thank you, Doc," I said softly, not really able to tell him exactly what I felt. It really was gratitude, and a lot of it, too. "Thank you so, so much."

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**Thanks for reading! Here's a look at the next chapter!(:**

_Miss Emiko,_

_We know that you are waiting for the Prince, but we have sent him away. He does not need to deal with these urgent matters, and as you are not allowed to leave the palace, we invite you to join us this evening. You being who you are, the members of the council want to meet with you one on many to discuss your plans about the war._

_-The War Council_


	22. The War Council

**Uhm...please don't hate me? BLAME FANFICTION! I'm soooo peeved at getting "Fanfiction" errors, and I've sent three or four e-mails! I'm sorry its been three weeks since you've heard from me, but I promise, I'll make it up to you!**

***ahem***

**In this chapter, Emiko gets a letter from the last people she would expect to...(:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, period.**

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**The War Council**

"Look at her…so marvelous, so beautiful… I don't think that I've ever seen such leadership. Besides myself, of course."

Zuko couldn't help with agree but the Admiral next to him, even though he wanted to punch the man in the face for even _looking_ at Emiko like that. But it was true; she was all of those things and so much more!

At the moment, Zuko and Admiral Yin were standing along the balcony overlooking the training area. Emiko was dressed in full battle armor, (for a domestic force,) and Zuko could now appreciate why the women were meant to wear the half shirt instead of the full one. She was drilling her men with the fierceness of any Fire Nation General. "You call that Firebending? No, you're all doing it wrong! What did I tell you? Power in Firebending comes from the _breath_! I don't want to see a single damn one of you using your anger to fuel your bending!" He noticed now, that when she got angry, a dark red stain covered the back of her neck. He didn't know if it was a birthmark, or if it had a natural inclination to flush, but it was there.

The soldiers in front of her looked so weary that their eyes seemed to be falling off of their faces. And yet they did as she asked of them, paired together in twos, fighting the moderate set.

Zuko was slightly worried for Emiko's well-being, as well. She'd had that fainting spell the last week, and even though the doctor had said that it was only from lack of a healthy diet, he still didn't know if he wanted her fighting. According to the nobles in his father's war room, though, they wanted no one else to train them.

The doctor had been correct in assuming that she hadn't been eating right. He'd _thought_ that she'd looked a little on the thin side. She was rounding out well now, though And, as long as he kept Mai and Emiko apart, she wouldn't be fainting anymore, either.

_Oh, what am I going to do?_ he wondered, putting his face into his hands. He was _expected_ to marry Mai, because of their long relationship and the bond between their families. But he actually thought he loved Emiko, and if that kiss she'd given him last week meant anything, then she still had feelings for him, too. Doing what he thought was right and doing what was expected had been the reason he'd been banished in the first place.

"Alright, take a break," he heard Emiko sigh, actually sighing afterwards. "You don't deserve a break, but I'm tired of yelling at you." Zuko heard the Admiral laugh from next to him, and he couldn't help but let a little smile show as well.

"You tell me that she served on a ship?" the Admiral asked, looking very, very interested all of a sudden.

"Yes, with me," Zuko said cautiously, wondering how much information he should give this guy. He and "Captain Yat-Sen" needed to keep their distance, both of them, even if they were high ranks, although the _actual_ Jasmine seemed to be attracting the Captain's attention; both of them had their sights set on Emiko. And as long as it stayed away from Emiko, that's all he cared about. "She was more of General Iroh's ward than having a specific place on my ship."

The Admiral looked amused. "What did you enter her as in the ship's log?"

Zuko almost didn't want to say it, but he felt that it should be said in this instant. "'Girl.'" He and the Admiral shared a small laugh at Emiko's expense. She seemed to notice that they were talking about her, so she looked up, blushing when she met Zuko's eye. She gave a small bow to him and the Admiral before turning back to her troops and drilling them twice as hard.

"And what a very beautiful girl," the Admiral said with a strange smirk.

_**Emiko**_

It was about time for Zuko to meet me at the Turtle Duck pond. I was waiting…and waiting…and I was about to leave. It really steamed me how he would do that to me. I knew that he was busy, but when _he _was the one who made the date, why was _I_ the one who was here waiting for _him_?

My butt plopped onto the ground, and I started to pet the baby ducks. One of them was over by its lonesome, so I crawled over to it and picked it up in my hands. Instead of the regular yellow fur, it was a strange black color.

"Don't feel lonely," I told it as I held it closed and snuggled my face into its fur, "you aren't alone in the world. See me? I'm strange too."

It looked at me peculiarly for a moment, it's blue eyes boring into mine. After that, it bit my thumb and I dropped it into the water. "Oww!" I glared at it, but then I softened and chuckled. "We're more alike than I thought."

The black Turtle-Duck swam over to the others of its group, flapping its wings and puffing its chest out. The others started quacking noisily and swimming away from him.

All except one.

It was a tiny thing, with white fur and baby blue eyes. It started snuggling up against the black one, quacking like she was cooing. Then was when I noticed that the back leg of the white one was badly scarred. And I realized there that the two ducks was like my relationship, and the white duck was the reason I was waiting here alone.

My face flushed completely red as I put my head into my hands. _Why am _I_ the one who is embarrassed? He's the one who's late!_ But believe me; I was going to get him back. _Big _time.

It was then that I felt a set of eyes boring into my back. My head came up slowly, as if I hadn't noticed anything. Then, I picked up a rock and wondered if I should skip it across the water or throw it at the person who was hiding in the tree above me. _Hmm…_

A sigh escaped my lips. "Okay, who's there?"

There was a rustle in the tree, telling my brain that the person either moved so I couldn't see them, or was trying to get down.

"I know you're there," I said nonchalantly as I turned the stone around in my hands. "The jig is up."

At first there was no answer, but after a moment, a person stood in front of me with a perplexed look on her face. "How did you...?"

I waved my hand at her and shook my head. "You're an amateur," I explained before I got up and dusted off my pants, throwing the rock aside. "And you're lucky that I didn't knock you out with that rock."

She blushed, her gangly body closing in on its self. I could tell that she was only about thirteen, maybe fourteen. But I was still at least two or three years older than her. She must've just had a growth spurt, because the fat on her body was sparse and didn't cover her bones very well. And it didn't help that she was younger, yet taller than me. She was pretty, in a young way, with thick brown hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head, her pretty Fire Nation eyes looking back at me.

"Other than you horrible spying needing critiqued, is there anything you'd like?"

She started running her fingers through hair, and I knew that I was making this difficult for her, but she really did need to learn. "Um…F-Fire Lord O-Ozai has a request for you," she mumbled, handing me a scroll then quickly—yet clumsily—running off.

I looked at the scroll in my hands questioningly. _What would Fire Lord Ozai want with me?_ I wondered silently, unrolling it.

_Miss Emiko, __We know that you are waiting for the Prince, but we have sent him away. He does not need to deal with these urgent matters, and as you are not allowed to leave the palace, we invite you to join us this evening. You being who you are, the members of the council want to meet with you one on many to discuss your plans about the war. _

_-The War Council_

_The War Council? _I asked myself silently. _What would they want with me? And how do those old geezers know who I am? _

Well, not that I'd tried to hide anything. The white fire might have given it away. That, or my grandmother had been married to a pretty prominent Fire Nation General, and my mother had been a pretty distinguished pirate in her time, before she'd been captured by my father and had fallen in love.

I looked around for any sign that someone was watching me. I didn't have that gut feeling in my stomach, and that told me that I was alone. But it's not like I cared. I was _supposed_ to be on a date with Zuko for the—I looked up at the sky—past two hours, but _no_. He'd been "sent away."

Automatically, I picked myself up off the ground and started stalking towards my room. I did need to get ready, didn't I? What would the council think if I showed up in _commoners_ clothing?

It made me laugh to think of that as I opened the door to my room, walked in, and closed it. I made my way over to my closet where my wardrobe was and contemplated what I should wear. There were so many choices, and strangely, I wanted to give a good impression. _I need to,_ I kept telling myself, _so that I can get their trust and send their troops out._

But, since I really didn't have too much to choose from, I decided on a military uniform. It was a little old-fashioned, but then again, so was the Sun Spirit. The boots went up to my knees, and the pants tucked in them. Over that was a red skirt-armor, the edges being gold. Then for a top, it was normal, showing my stomach, being red, and having gold edges like the skirt. It was sleeveless, and had a collar that stood up. I put a cape on over my outfit, and it went around my shoulders and tied together at a broach at my chest. The broach was the Fire Nation symbol. Then a tie hung from that.

For my hair, there wasn't too much to do. When I'd cut it, I hadn't thought about what I would do with it when the time came to actually be Fire Nation noble material. But still, I liked it short like this and that was all that mattered. _Just think. A year ago and my hair was down to __my butt. Now its cut short to my head? I would have _never_ cut it back then, but hey, a girl learns…_

I had to admit that now I was a little nervous. What if I messed up while I was in there? What if my temper got out of control? What if they do to me what they did to Zuko…?

I shook my head back and forth rapidly. No. They wouldn't do that.

Right…?

_**Later…**_

I walked up to the meeting room that night. Jasmine was waiting outside, and she was surprised and angered that I was there. "Emiko, what are you _doing _here?" she asked with quiet anxiety as she led me over to a corner by my shoulders. She still looked the same, if not a little older both physically and mentally. Her long brown hair was pulled behind her in a ponytail, her topaz eyes full of anger for me, as usual.

"Going to the meeting," I told her matter-of-factly, pulling my arm out of her harsh grip. "What _else _would I be doing here?"

She looked at me with a mix of outrage and pure confusion. "But…there's no way…he didn't even invite _Azula_…"

"Well I got an invitation," I told her, holding it out. She snatched it out of my hands, pure agony appearing over her face as she read it. "Apparently the Fire Lord wants me here."

"Ahhh, there you are Miss Emiko!" a soldier called when he spotted me. "Miss Jasmine," he bowed. Then he turned back to me and bowed as well. "The Fire Lord will see you now."

"All right," Jasmine said as she bowed back and started to walk away.

"No ma'am," the soldier said quickly. "The Fire Lord just wants to see Miss Emiko. Alone."

Jasmine's jaw dropped open, surprise, anger, and something else, maybe jealously, masked her eyes. "B-b-b-b-bu…!"

I smiled and patted her shoulder. "It's okay, big sis. He just wants to see me. Maybe I'll fill you in later."

She stared after me as the guard led me through the curtains. _Alright, maybe I shouldn't have said that to Jasmine. But really, when will she learn that I'm just as important—well, _more_ important—to the Fire Nation as she is!_

I really was impressed. It was a temple-like chamber, with a throne on a dais, wreathed in fire. Some sort of huge, ornately carved red statue occupied the back wall. On the floor was a map of the Earth Kingdom continent, beautifully crafted to be exactly as I would picture it to be on a map, only twenty sizes larger. All around were ornate pillars.

That was when I noticed the man in the back of the room. He was sitting on the throne, the fire having blocked him. I felt more filled with power the closer I got to the fire, wanting to show the Fire Lord that power, but I knew that I shouldn't. I walked forwards, nervous at what I was supposed to do. When I got to the blank spot on the floor, I fell to my knees and bowed before the Fire Lord.

After a moment there was a slight chuckle, and I looked up to see that he had gotten up and was standing over me. "Rise, Emiko Zhao."

Slowly, I did as he told me. I looked into the man's face, and saw a scar-less older Zuko with a goatee. He smiled at me, and I did so too, yet smaller. He was…really handsome, to tell the truth.

"You look so much like your mother," he said curiously, looking at me as if I were actually her ghost. "But you're a little bit shorter..." he mused aloud, turning my head to the side to get a better glimpse of me. I blushed slightly, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Permission to speak?" I asked as if I was still at school.

He stepped away and looked slightly sinister for a moment, before turning back to his placid self. "Of course, Emiko. You don't even have to ask. I'm hoping that at the meeting tonight you don't ask something like that. I want you to speak as if you were above all of those uptight nobles."

"Yes sir." It was strange. He was treating me as if I was a close friend, even though I was technically a fugitive, under house arrest, and was literally a traitor to his nation. Something was up. "Why am I here?"

Then, the Fire Lord looked at me quixotically. I started to get nervous under his stare, but tried to hide it. "Emiko..." he finally said after a moment. He started walking around me with his hand on his chin like he was thinking. "I've seen you and Zuko, and I was wondering something..."

"Anything, sir," I promised him, surprised at the turn our conversation took.

"I was wondering…why?"

"Why what, sir?"

"…Why do you love my son?" he asked seriously. My mouth suddenly went dry, and I felt my brow becoming covered with sweat. "After all he's done to you…he burned you, didn't he?"

I nodded stiffly, wanting to touch the wound but unable to. "Yes sir, he did."

The Fire Lord's eyes bored into mine like he was trying to read my soul. "But how can you forgive him after something like that?"

I had a strange feeling that his question had a double meaning. First, how could I forgive Zuko, and second, how could Zuko forgive _Ozai_? "Sir…he did what he had to do for his Nation. If he thought I was betraying him, then he had the right to scar me."

"And you're okay with that." It wasn't a question.

_No, I'm not, but I'm acting, so I've got to act like I am. _"It doesn't matter if I was _'okay'_ with his scarring me. He did what he had to, and now I'm almost healed."

"No you aren't," he said quietly, turning away from me. "You are still hurt inside. He hurt you permanently, something that won't heal like a new wound with a Waterbender."

I looked down and smiled, trying not to start bursting into tears like my raging hormones wanted to. _Lie…lie…_ "Your Highness, I've been hurt on the inside. A _lot_. Something this small isn't going to do anything. Let me ask you a question." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how many times I've been burned?"

Ozai shook his head back and forth. "No, Emiko."

_It's now or never, I suppose._ I took off my cape and lifted the hair on the nape of my neck. "This…was when I was twelve and challenged Admiral Zhao to an Agni Kai." Ozai's eyes weren't surprised. I pulled off my boot and pulled up my pant legs and showed him that. "This happened after I started the fire that burned my mother." Now his eyes were sympathetic. "And then my shoulder. But just so you know, I didn't show you this so you would pity me."

"I know that."

"Because I've gotten enough of that. I don't pity myself anymore, and I've learned not to pity anyone else either."

"So you don't pity my son." Again, it wasn't a question.

I shook my head and smiled. "No, I don't. We've both been through so much… and I felt like I should have gone with him instead of going after the Avatar's friends."

"I'm glad you _did_ go after them, though," Ozai admitted with a sly smile, though I felt as if he knew more than he was letting on. "If not, I could be dead by now." He bowed to me. "Thank you, Emiko Zhao."

"There's no need to thank me, Fire Lord," I said as I took a step back. It was strange to be thanked for something I didn't actually do. "It was for my Nation."

Ozai straightened and looked at me with humored eyes. "Well, now that formalities are out of the way, I have a very serious question to ask you."

"Yes sir." I thought those _were_ the serious questions.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and smiled down on me, but I felt sickened by the false aura he was giving me. "Am I going to be bouncing grandchildren on my knee anytime soon?"

My eyes bugged. _Wha…what?_ I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. "But sir, d-do you really think that…I mean, it's kind of hard to…I don't even know if…or…but what if…?" _Oh Spirits! How does he know?_

Ozai let out a booming laugh and patted my shoulder. "I'm only teasing, Emiko. But I would like to know ahead of time." He winked and kept the smile on his face.

I blushed and looked down, not knowing what to say. He shouldn't have known anything! And even if he didn't, my stunned silence might tip him off to something. Even if Zuko and I _weren't_ sleeping together at the moment.

The Fire Lord backed up and walked back towards his throne. "Emiko, I suggest that you get ready for the meeting. It should be starting soon."

Bowing to the ground, I answered, "Yes sir. Thank you sir."

"And remember what I said."

Blush filled my cheeks again. "Yes sir."

"You are dismissed."

_**A few mintues later...**_

Jasmine was right outside the flaps of cloth, waiting to be filled in. "WHAT HAPPENED?" she demanded,

I pushed past her and sat down on one of the many chairs in the hallway. "Too much." I wasn't going to tell her _any_ of what went on in there, because then she would get the idea that the Fire Lord was going soft or something. Not that I really cared, but I also didn't want her to have any inclination about my baby or that Zuko and I weren't still on good terms. "Just go away."

"I can't," she said as she eyed me suspiciously. "The meeting is starting."

_Great…_ "Whatever, I'll walk in last. Just go."

Her mouth dropped open from sure idiotism. "What is _wrong_ with you? Did he banish you or something?"

"Would I be here if I was banished?" I snapped irritably.

"So what, did he ask if he was going to get grandchildren anytime soon?" When I didn't say anything, she continued with a hand on her chin and a smile above that. "You know, I do like the sound of 'Aunt Jasmine.'"

I shook my head and glared at the floor. Maybe…maybe now was the time to tell her. She wouldn't like it, but she'd have to just deal. _No, not about my child, but another one…_ "Listen…I think you should know. Before Azula took over Ba Sing Se, brother was there."

Her eyes widened and her brow furrowed. "What was he doing _there_? And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Jasmine, he was married." Her jaw dropped and I wondered if she was either going to faint or start into a screaming rampage. "He married a woman named Naomi and they were about to have a child together."

"N-no…" she whispered as she backed away. "No way…I don't believe it."

"Believe it,_ Aunt Jasmine_," I mumbled, watching her scurry away.

"The Meeting is starting," an old man told me as he walked towards the door. "I suggest you leave, young lady."

"I'm in the meeting," I told him as I stood up and straightened my armor.

He eyed me, his eyes widening at the top of his scope. "Right. Emiko, is it?"

_Grrr…_

_**In the Meeting...**_

We were sat down around that small table with Jasmine at one end and me at the other. I was facing the Fire Lord. The old man who had told me to get lost was next to Jasmine—along with many other old men—and younger people were around me.

One of the men in the middle stood up and started addressing the group, eying Jasmine and me distastefully. "_Ladies_ and gentlemen of the council, I have more news on the Earth Kingdom defenses." He pointed to Ba Sing Se, and I raised an eyebrow. "There aren't any."

There were many approving murmurs through the crowd, but I just was thinking, _Well no duh._

"Since we have taken down their capitol, the soldiers are now scattered throughout their massive territory. So now we practically control them."

_Well again, no duh. Get on with it._

"That's old news," one of the older generals growled as he put his hands on the table. "Why did you call this meeting?"

"To propose an attack on the Northern Water Tribe." There were some disgruntled faces. "Sending in the 30th Navy Division would be the best, as it is time to strike!"

This caught my interest. "And a good proposal it is," I said as I stood up, ready to put in my own plan. Faces turned to me and most of them were angered. "But I should tell you that I have trained the 30th, and they are all _horrid_ fighters and don't know the right flank from the left flank."

"Then what do _you_ propose?" the announcer asked irritably as he put one hand on the table and leaned towards me.

They were all eyeing me warily, so I just decided to spit it out. "The 26th."

"No," Jasmine growled, standing straight up. "That is _my_ division! _I_ command them!"

I sighed and shook my head. _I'm so sorry, Jasmine. I still love you._ "Then you should take that as a compliment. The Northern Water Tribe is in shambles right now from Zhao's attack. He had not counted on the Avatar being there, or he might have won. But right now, the Avatar is _dead_. The Waterbenders can't protect themselves as it is. We need a straight-on attack, one that is powerful enough to rush the fortress."

Jasmine's jaw dropped, and she fell back in her seat. "Th-that's true, but if my division leaves, then—"

_Then she will have to leave._ I had to hold back the tears.

"Then they are doing what they _should_," I snapped, giving her an evil eye. Well, that was halfway true. The 26th defended the Nation as well as did away missions, but what I called for meant getting rid of all of them so that the Avatar and his friends could do what they wanted here at the Fire Nation. _Taking it down from the inside… _"Afterwards, send a small barrack of the 10th to get the information we need."

The old General that I had grown to dislike raised an eyebrow. "But the 10th is all women. And it's _your _regiment."

I pursed my lips. _Is there something wrong with that?_ "They may all be women, but I have trained them _personally_, and I know that the spies from where I was taught are perfect for what we have in mind."

"I'm impressed, I admit," Jasmine muttered before hitting her hand on the table, "but there is no way I'm sending my troops up there. They aren't ready!"

"They are and will be," I growled before turning towards the others, "if it is to the Council's approval."

They were all staring, wide-eyed and mouths dropped.

One of them cleared their throats and stood up, as if to help rid the tension in the room. "There is one other matter of discussion," he told us as I sat down, and I knew that it was a quick change of subject for a reason, but I knew when to shut my gob.

"Please, continue," I said with a large smile. I picked up my drink of water and took a sip.

The man sighed and shook his head, showing some agitation. He then cleared his throat again and put his hands behind his back. "This is the matter of Prince Zuko's betrothal."

I spat out the water in surprise. "WHAT?"

They all looked towards me. The older men were angered, and the younger ones were amused.

"The Prince should have gotten married when he turned sixteen," the announcer continued as he glared at me, "but certain obstructions deterred that."

"Th-this isn't right," I spat out, gripping the table with my fingernails.

"Well do _you_ have a person you think should marry him?" the man asked as he looked at me with judging eyes. "I don't… Oh." _Look at me! Who the Abyss did you _think_ I was?_

I took a deep breath and glared at all of them. "The Prince should marry whomever he sees fit. No one should have to choose for him."

Maybe I was a little angry that Azula interrupted my engagement. Maybe I was a little hormonal from little Zuko Jr. in my stomach. And maybe I should have been a little nicer to all of them, but it wasn't _fair_.

_Who ever said that life was fair? _my brain asked.

"Well, that's a vote to keep this put off," he said nervously as he sat back down. "Say aye if you agree with Miss Emiko's account." The eye I gave them might have made them want to 'put off' Zuko's _betrothal_.

"Aye," they all said besides Jasmine, who kept completely quiet.

But then before I knew it, the old man said, "Meeting adjourned."

* * *

**Bum-bum-bum-BUMMMM! (:**

**Next chapter? Yes!**

I…I was wondering something. When you were in the crystal catacombs…how did you choose?"

"Choose what, exactly?" He had made several decisions in the catacombs.

"Choose not to follow Azula and follow your own path?" She looked rather embarrassed that she'd asked, although he knew that she wanted an answer.

He'd planned on giving it to her, anyways. _If there was any way that more people were like you, Ming, then they would understand why I did what I did._ "There are times when you follow what your mind thinks is right…and then there are times that you follow what your _heart_ thinks is right. I simply followed my heart."

She closed her pretty eyes for a moment, as if contemplating what he'd just said. And then _she_ said something that he couldn't believe she'd say; "General…I think I'm going to follow my heart, too. I think it's time that you knew about Emiko."

Instantly, a pang of fear ran through his chest, although he didn't want to think of it in that way. He forced his heart rate to slow down as he asked, "What about her?"

"She's here, in the capital," Ming said as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "She got here a few weeks ago, and I've heard that she's been trying to figure out where you are. But she's under the palace's arrest, and she can't leave certain areas of the palace. If I were to help her…"

"I do not want you putting yourself in danger, Ming." That was the _last_ thing he wanted.

"But sir, I thought that you loved Emiko like a daughter?"

Iroh nodded. "I do, but I also do not want either of you to be hurt, just so that I can see the face of my daughter. Somehow, we will see each other again, just not now." _Not now._


	23. A Seemingly Normal Day

**I felt so bad for not being able to upload for three weeks...this chapter should make up for it! **

**Lets just say that in this chapter, you will love me and hate me at the same time? Just remember...this bad boy is rated M!**

***************RATED 'M'!***************

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Alright?(:**

* * *

**A Seemingly Normal Day in the Fire Nation Capital**

I looked to the girl, Tao, her name was, and wanted to roll my eyes and sigh. I didn't need apologies, I didn't need her help! But that really wouldn't help her at the moment. Her small shoulders were shuddering, her lower lip being bitten to no extent. "It wasn't your _fault_!"

She sniffed slightly and wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm. She was a small girl, which didn't help the fact that she looked younger than even me. Her hair was an auburn color, with dark brown streaming throughout it. Bright hazel eyes were brimming with tears, and she sniffed a button nose covered in angel kisses. "How can you not be angry with me?"

She started pulling out the gauze, medical ointment, tweezers, and a few other things that had me cringing in my seat. "I'm not angry with you. It was an accident, it happens all the time!" _Though how you missed that large man, I'll never know!_

Tao was one of the students I'd been training ever since the noble kids who lived around the palace had taken a shining to me. It'd started about a week before...

_Concentrate...listen to the world around you..._

_Hmm? Oh, that was the wind. Concentrate, Emiko! Jeez. Why can't I think straight? Oh, right, I'm pregnant with the Crown Prince's kid, who may or may not also turn out to be the next Sun Spirit. Joy to the word, but I'm sure that you would understand, brain, if you could clear your mind and FOCUS._

_What was that? I didn't imagine that this time. Giggling? Who giggles anymore?_

I peeked open an eye and looked out around the training courtyard, but as expected, I was alone. I closed my eyes again and told myself that I was crazy, but then I heard it again, and this time when I opened my eyes, I caught a glimpse of a child. For a second, I was irked, at least until they giggled again and I couldn't help but wonder how long ago it'd been when I'd done the same exact thing to my mother's Master.

_The least I can do_, I thought as I stood up and took a deep, long breath and a good stretch, _is give them a show._ It took a second for me to get my breath just the way I wanted it, and I moved my arms around in the way that only I knew how, the way that my mother had taught me herself when I had been a child. _Simple, but then again, I see about one, two three...five children? They're all children, they probably haven't had much training._

It felt good to have my body flowing in the simple, basic moves of a beginner instead of as a fighter like I'd been doing everyday. The domestic forces around me had been difficult to train _properly,_ but I'd gotten it done. They knew what I expected now.

"Are you really a Master Firebender?" a tiny voice asked in front of my closed eyes, and I shrieked and jumped out of the way. Actually, I ended up on my backside, and the five-year-old girl in front of me only had wide, curious topaz eyes. She was really adorable, with thick black bangs and little ponytails on either side of the top of her head.

I took a deep breath, calmed my racing heart, and looked at the other four girls who were from age five to thirteen. "N-no, I am _not_ a Master Firebender, and you can't just sneak up on a person like that!" _I could have really hurt myself...or even my baby!_

Anyways, that was how I'd gotten myself into training these girls.

Tao glanced at me with tears brimming in her young eyes. "But _how_? I practically mutilated your shoulder! If it had gotten any deeper, it would have struck your heart!" She motioned for me to take my shirt off, and I did with a lot of grunting and pain. The throwing star—which had hit me in a spot that hadn't been protected by armor—had already been removed, thank the Spirits.

She was a frail girl, and I really wanted to make her stop the damn whining, but I did have a _little_ bit of a heart. "Look, Tao, anytime you're on the battlefield, or even _practicing_, you're gonna get injuries, even death. It's a natural part of war!"

The girl glanced at me wearily. "I know, it's just so difficult knowing that I hurt you. Do you feel pain?" she asked as she gently dabbed it with some kind of cleaning liquid. I was about to say no, but then the apparent alcohol set in and I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming her head off. _Just be thankful it wasn't the burned shoulder!_

"N-no," I ground out, clenching the bed sheets. "Enough about me, damn it, keep my mind off of what you're doing. I want to know about you."

She raised two delicate eyebrows. "_Me_? Why would you want to know about _me_?"

"Because!" I exclaimed, choking out the word. "Get my mind off of the alcohol!"

I must've sounded crazy to her, because of the way she looked at me. "Liar. You told me that it hadn't hurt!"

"You really m-must not be able to read lies very well," I growled, letting out a small groan as she really applied pressure.

"Well I can read you right now. There must be some shrapnel left in there. Shoot. That'll hurt getting out." She pulled up a pair of the freaky little tweezers and something else I had no idea what it was. Thank the Spirits that she put down the second pair, because it looked really scary.

"How old are you, Tao?" I asked, looking away as she came closer with them.

She replied, "Thirteen," with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

I gasped as the cold metal touched my skin. But then it touched the metal and I about Firebended her tiny ass away from me. Too bad it had to come out or it would cause a lot of damage to my shoulder. "W-why are you in the Domestic Forces at such a young age?" I cried out when she pulled on something that didn't need pulled on.

She gritted her teeth. "Shoot. Sorry about that. Um…" Her eyes seemed to go hollow and her mouth turned down into a frown. "I'm the eighth daughter of my family. We've got a lot of money, but I'm still the youngest. My father didn't want to have to give me a dowry for a man to want to marry me, and I wasn't smart like my other sisters, so they threw me in the sign-up line."

"That's horrible!" I gasped, trying to keep my pain on the inside. It wasn't working very well, though. "How could they do that to you, no matter what kind of financial situation they were in?"

She didn't look away from my wound, but it sure did look as if she wanted to look away dejectedly. "I'm the only Firebender of my family. They figured…that if I went into the military, like the other noble kids, I'd be some kind of prodigy. Well, as you can see, I'm not."

"Well—AUGH!"

"Got it," she said calmly, holding it up to the light. It looked too small to be significant, although I knew that it was. "Hmm. That could've done some damage."

"Well no shit! _Damn_ it that hurt!" I cried as I held my hand to the wound.

But she just pulled it away, a stern look on that round face. "Hey, hands off! I don't want it even more infected then it could already get!" She put my hand by my side, making me flinch and glare at her. "Don't give me that look, you know I'm right."

I gritted my teeth and looked away so she couldn't see _that look_. "Justget it over with, will you?"

"Rawr!" she exclaimed, both hands on her hips as she looked at me incredulously. "In a bad mood much?"

"Yes I am!" I cried as I took up the alcohol again and hid it from her. _Too bad I can't have any of it. _"Koh, you should've given me some of that _before_ you started digging in my shoulder. It would've been better than you trying to keep my mind off of it. Which you didn't do a very good job of, if I do say so myself."

She huffed and stole the alcohol from me, dabbing some on a rag, and then placing it on my chest. I let out a howl of pain from the burning that should have rang out through the entire palace.

"Great _Koh_ that's painful!"

"Well good!" she exclaimed back, bringing up another piece of cloth to dab it dry. "Now if you'll hold _still_, I'll wrap this sucker and we can get on with our lives!"

I ground my teeth as she applied medical tape to the dry cloth, holding it in place around the wound. She then took out a large strip of bandage and motioned for me to stand up. _You sure did turn disrespectful in such little time! Damn, girl…I don't care if my hormones _are _raging because I'm pregnant, I'd be irritated with you anyways!_

"Oh, my…" she said softly, her soft fingers running over the puckered skin of the opposite shoulder. "What happened to you, Emiko?"

"Obviously I was burned," I snapped, turning away from her sorrowful face. "Now hurry up before someone else comes in and sees."

She nodded hesitantly and bent back down to pick up the roll. "Spirits, Emiko, I'm so sorry. I didn't know…"

"Well a lot of people don't know." I flinched as the tight bandage hit the new wound.

"I won't say a word," she promised, going above my left shoulder, below my right, on and on until it reached my neck. She then cut the bandage and applied more medical tape so it wouldn't come off. "I promise."

I stretched my "good" shoulder and looked at her pretty hazel eyes, wondering, just wondering, how she'd gotten into this mess. Not because of her family, but because of what she thought of herself. "It doesn't really matter anymore."

What did I think of _my_self? And what was I supposed to do when Jasmine's regimen left tomorrow morning?

_**Iroh**_

Ming was quite the beautiful guard, at least to General Iroh. If she had been one of his soldiers, he would have found a favorite in her very, very quickly. She didn't talk back; she was gentle, while at the same time she found some way to always do something that just didn't seem right with regulation. "I snuck in some White Jade tea," she said, completely conspiritual as she sat the tray down into his cage. "I know you like rare teas."

"Thank you, Ming," he said softly, picking up the small tin cup and taking a sip of the tea, which was actually very delicious. She was quite beautiful as the tea, her thick brown hair pulled up under her military headband. She had a very light bone structure that almost wasn't suited for the military, but he could tell that her body was in good enough shape. Her light eyes crinkled in happiness whenever he thanked her. "Ever since I was put in here, you have been very kind to me."

Ming tilted her head and smiled in embarrassment. "You don't need to thank me, General Iroh. But if I could ask a question?" Her light-boned brow scrunched up slightly when he nodded that yes, she could ask a question, and she looked at him with concern. "When you…" She cleared her throat. "N-never mind. It would be wrong of me to ask."

Iroh had yet to figure this woman out. She disobeyed orders, and yet she couldn't openly ask a simple question? He may have been stuck in a hovel of a jail cell, but he knew that having at least one friend who may or may not have been able to help him out was a good thing. "It would only be wrong if you did not ask."

Her thick lips pursed, as if she really didn't think that she should. "I…I was wondering something. When you were in the crystal catacombs…how did you choose?"

"Choose what, exactly?" He had made several decisions in the catacombs.

"Choose not to follow Azula and follow your own path?" She looked rather embarrassed that she'd asked, although he knew that she wanted an answer.

He'd planned on giving it to her, anyways. _If there was any way that more people were like you, Ming, then they would understand why I did what I did._ "There are times when you follow what your mind thinks is right…and then there are times that you follow what your _heart_ thinks is right. I simply followed my heart."

She closed her pretty eyes for a moment, as if contemplating what he'd just said. And then _she_ said something that he couldn't believe she'd say; "General…I think I'm going to follow my heart, too. I think it's time that you knew about Emiko."

Instantly, a pang of fear ran through his chest, although he didn't want to think of it in that way. He forced his heart rate to slow down as he asked, "What about her?"

"She's here, in the capital," Ming said as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "She got here a few weeks ago, and I've heard that she's been trying to figure out where you are. But she's under the palace's arrest, and she can't leave certain areas of the palace. If I were to help her…"

"I do not want you putting yourself in danger, Ming." That was the _last_ thing he wanted.

"But sir, I thought that you loved Emiko like a daughter?"

Iroh nodded. "I do, but I also do not want either of you to be hurt, just so that I can see the face of my daughter. Somehow, we will see each other again, just not now." _Not now._

_**Zuko**_

Zuko stood over his bed, slowly removing the pin that fastened his crown in place. His hair fell down around his face once more, settling the way that it should have been, instead of up in that stupid crown. After that, he removed his armor and padding just as slowly, lying it down onto the bed and smoothing it out. _What do I do?_

He knew that he had to get out, but how to do that without losing everything he loved? The woman he loved was lying in a room next to his, sleeping like the peaceful angel she was. And he would have to leave her, even after she'd already proven herself to him that she would follow him anywhere. _I can't let her follow me again. I can't let her get _hurt_ again._

Zuko smoothed a piece of paper with one of the wooden blocks that was lying on top of it. He dipped a brush in ink, and began writing, trying to forget what he had to do.

_Emiko…_

"Zuko?" came her voice, and for a moment, he thought that he was imagining it. But then he felt her hand on his back, and he looked up to see that she was standing over him, a sleepy look on his face. "Zuko…I had a bad dream."

Her face was swollen with tears, and her shaking body was covered in a simple sheet. He instantly wanted to hold her, but he knew that he needed to distance himself over the next few days, if he wanted to leave. But he had to do _something. _The look of sleepy desperation on her face made him want things that he shouldn't have wanted.

Zuko took her hand and stood up, leading her over to the other side of his bed where he hadn't laid his things, and he pulled back the covers to allow her to sit there. She looked so forlorn, sitting there like that, so small and helpless, that he couldn't help but take her into his arms and hold her for a few moments, putting his head into her soft, sweet-smelling hair and just holding her.

"It was bad," she said softly, in a child-like way. He knew then that she was probably half asleep, and he sighed, wishing that she would let him hold her like this much more, that she would…

But she wouldn't. So he sighed again and laid her down, covering her with the thin silk blanket, and watched her fall back asleep almost instantly. "I'm sorry, Emiko," he said softly, running his hand over her short hair. He then leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

_**The Next Morning...**_

Zuko opened his eyes and groaned, quickly closing them again and putting his hand over them. He'd stayed up all night, trying to write that letter, trying to tell Emiko why he'd have to leave. Nothing had been good enough, though. He hadn't been able to think then, and he couldn't think now for the thick pounding in his head, couldn't think anything further than keeping his eyes closed and going back to bed.

But at that same instant, he felt a movement against him.

Nothing could come to him when he thought of what that soft silk could be, and he instantly felt a cold sweat. He opened his eyes against the glaring light coming in from the window and glanced down to see the darkest midnight hair, short compared to his, lying on his shoulder.

An arm was wrapped around his waist, and whoever the delectable creature was tightened her grip on him, whispering something he couldn't understand. "_No,_" she mumbled slightly louder, her head tucked perfectly into his arm. "Five more minutes…"

Good Agni, who was this woman and why was she in his bed? It wouldn't be Emiko. She'd exclaimed her distaste of his betrayal loud and clear. And Mai would have never cut her hair that short!

He moved slightly and instantly felt that splitting headache come back—he knew he was about to pass out if he moved again. But he also had felt silky-smooth skin brushed up against his leg, felt the soft patch of maiden curls.

His groin started aching just thinking about it. But to the Abyss, he didn't even know who this woman was!

Once he was sure that he wasn't going to throw up, he turned over in her arms and held her slightly away, then reached up to brush back her hair. He instantly balked when he saw the familiar high cheekbones and light skin, the wide, luscious lips and the closed almond-shaped eyes with the dark lashes that gently kissed her full cheeks.

_Emiko_.

Something in his heart jumped, and he wanted to hug her tightly to his body and shout to the heavens that she was with him again. He didn't want to ever let her go, either.

"_Mmmhh_," she breathed against his chest, instantly pulling him closer. "I need five more minutes… Please? Good." Her hand slowly ran down his chest, landing less than an inch above his groin, making him harden almost instantly. Her eyes never opened as she placed her lips on his neck, gently licking his skin with a rough tongue.

"Emiko," he begged in the softest voice he could, making her startle. She instantly threw him onto his back, her palms digging into his shoulders as she grasped him.

"What the… Where in the Abyss am I?" she shouted, her naked body tangled gracefully in the sheets. He could still feel her thighs over his hips and wanted to grab her hips and thrust straight up into her, feel his seed plunge deep inside her womb. He didn't think that he'd ever seen something more beautiful than her at the moment, her bright, sunlight-colored eyes full of confusion and lust. "Zuko? How did I…what did we…"

He couldn't take it any longer! He set fire to his hands and burned the flimsy layer that kept him from what he wanted. His hands then grasped her waist and he pulled her down slowly, as if to silence her. But her sigh of surprise and pleasure from his length sliding into her made him not care whether she screamed out his name or whispered it over and over again, telling him how much she loved him.

"Z-Zuko," she groaned, her nails digging into his chest. She tried to pull away, but he pulled her hips down even harder onto him. She cried out in pleasure and release, her head thrown back. He loved the way it made her pert breasts arch towards him, as if begging to be touched. _She's gotten slightly bigger. And she's finally gaining some weight back. Good._ His hands weren't feeling ribs anymore when he grasped her harder.

She rode him for a moment, her nails digging into his skin, her thighs clamping down around his hips. It felt so good to be back inside her tight, hot sheath again, to pump into her and claim her as his and only his.

Suddenly she clamped her legs down tighter, trying not to move. "No!" she exclaimed, shaking her head, her short hair sticking up in all directions. "This…this is all wrong!"

"Damn it," he exclaimed, trying not to look at her as he shamelessly took his pleasure, "just feel it!"

She smacked a hand against his chest, though it quickly turned into a fist as she tried not to moan out his name. "It's not that I don't want this," she whispered, her breath hitching when he pulled out and thrust into her again. "I do. But…this isn't right!"

Zuko quickly rolled her beneath him, moving slowly inside of her. Her head rolled back, her hands clenching the sheets as she tried to make him quicken his pace. He wouldn't let her, because he was going to slowly pleasure her, to remind her of the love they'd shared and made together many, many times. "It was always right before."

She looked torn between pleasure and tears of pain from the past. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't look back, though, only ahead. "N-no…" Her breath hitched when he pulled almost all the way out and thrust back into her tightness. "_Ah…_"

He forced himself not to go anywhere near as fast as he wanted to, for it to be a frenzy of clothes, a heated entry and nothing else. Nothing felt except the tight heat of her canal and his erection plunging deep inside of her, her screams ringing through his ears.

He leaned down and rained kisses along her sweat-covered skin, down along her collarbone and between her delectable breasts. He then let his lips cover one pink-colored tip, getting a strangled cry from her as he softly nipped at it, pulling it further into his mouth. He wanted to show her that he could please her many times over. He reached between them, playing with her as he slowed her torment and put the attention to her other breast. She clenched her eyes as her silky liquids flowed around his ever thickening erection. She sagged against the pillows, though he knew that she was just winding tighter and tighter…

He leaned up and kissed her, long and slow. She moaned, digging her fingers into his hair and pulling him closer. She pulled away to take a deep breath. "Faster, _please_."

"_I am going to make you scream for me,_" he whispered, his lips dragging along her jaw, her neck. His teeth grazed her sensitive skin, his tongue teasing.

"_Please_," she begged again, crying out when he slowly, agonizingly pulled out, then plunged leisurely back in.

"_I am going to have you crying my name, over and over and over…_" Her head rolled back, giving him access to the soft skin beneath her jaw. He kissed her there, over and over, gently nipping at her chin. He grasped her hips and slowed them even more, to the point that she groaned and tightened around him.

"Z-Zuko…" she said softly, and he stopped kissing her long enough to look up into her beautiful eyes. But those eyes looked…nauseous? And her face was green!

"Emiko?"

But that was about all he got out before she shoved him off of her and raced towards the bathroom. She made it right in time, her head over the porcelain chamber pot as she vomited. Zuko, still hard and searching for relief, didn't know if he had the strength to get up and try to help her. Somehow he managed, although it was pretty difficult.

He wetted a cloth for her and gently mopped her forehead as she laid her head onto the cool porcelain of the tub right next to the chamber pot. "Are you alright?" he asked softly, gently rubbing her back when she started looking green again.

"Y-yeah…I'm so sorry," she said, and it almost was a sob, it was so full of tears. He wanted to laugh at the situation, but it was kind of hard when he himself was…well, hard. "It must b-be my new diet…"

Doc, Zuko had found out, had gone back to the Capital after his entire crew had been taken. And he'd treated Emiko the day she'd fainted, apparently. She had something called anemia, which meant that she didn't have enough iron in her bloodstream. An entire meal plan had been laid out for her, and her body apparently wasn't used to it.

"I think I'm finished," she said, and he believed her as she didn't look green anymore.

"Would you like to lie down for a little while?" Zuko asked, wondering why she blushed when he'd taken the courtesy to cover himself.

"I…I don't think that I can walk."

_Oh, boy…_

* * *

**Baha! Not the ending you expected, huh? Golly, I'm evil! :D**

**Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter! (:**

It took a moment for me to undo my cloak, but it came off simply enough. "Come to the bars. There's something that I have to show you."

He looked suspicious, but I was sure that my face looked completely terrified and alone. He complied and moved towards the bars as I unbuttoned the bottom of my shirt, a sliver of pale skin showing on my stomach. I knew that I was starting to show. _Only another reason why I have to leave._

I gently took his hand through the bar, glad to know that his hands were still strong and proud and not thin, frail, and shaking. Then, I gently placed his hand against my enlarged stomach.

Uncle's eyes widened. Apparently he hadn't thought that I'd show him that, or anything relevant to the subject. His topaz eyes, much like Zuko's, were full of confusion, wonder, and something else that I couldn't quite place. It took him a moment to speak.

"How...how long?"

"Four months, maybe a little m-more." He got a distant look on his face as his thumbs gently brushed over my stomach, which I then realized was showing quite a bit, especially since I was so small in the first place. "I have t-to leave, Uncle. Tomorrow."


	24. The Day of Black Sun

**Um...don't hate me? Great, amazing chapter, but don't hate me, please! And I know its short, I apologize. But it has a LOT of information!**

**Dislcaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender!**

* * *

**The Day of Black Sun**

_I have to see him... _

_He has to know!_

_**Iroh**_

Ming entered Iroh's jail cell, as she did everyday almost exactly at noon, carrying a tray of food. Although it smelled amazing, he knew that it wasn't the taste that he was looking forward to, but rather her beautiful face. "Lunchtime, General Iroh!" she exclaimed happily, a childish glint in her pretty hazel eyes. The glint might have been conspiritual, though, because she then whispered, "And this time, I brought you an extra bowl of rice!"

He couldn't help but smile at her sweetness. Unfortunately, he would soon have to leave...and he couldn't let her be in the middle of any of this. "Thank you, Ming. Your little gestures of kindness had made my days in prison bearable." And he wasn't lying when he said that, either. Without her kindness, he wouldn't have been able to do what he really needed to do. "But...I think you should take the rest of the day off."

"What?" she asked, looking confused. He had to admit that the look was rather attractive, but he didn't want that confusion aimed at him.

"You don't look well," he said, grabbing the bars. _I must make sure that she is away from this place!_ "Maybe you should go home and rest."

"No, I feel fine!" Ming exclaimed, looking at him as if he were growing two heads. "Really, General, I feel fine."

"Trust me," Uncle told her seriously, willing her away with his words and hoping that it worked. "It is better that you are not here this afternoon."

Her concerned look seemed unnecessary, although he appreciated it from her. "Alright," she said softly, looking out the door, something along the line of fear on her face. "Although...if a certain girl appears to you today, please don't send her away before she can talk to you."

"You've talked with Emiko, then?" He didn't want to have to face Emiko before he had to run away, but it seemed that he would have to.

"Yes. But please, she really needs to speak with you."

_**Emiko**_

The morning sickness _really_ needed to leave me alone. Not only was I throwing up everything I ate, but morning sickness was improperly named! I threw up _every_ minute of _every_ day, not just in the morning! I'd asked Doc if it was normal, and he'd said yes, it was. The only time I ever got any peace was when I was training the men.

Oh, and when Jasmine's regimen had left. She was furious with me, yes, but she wouldn't be in the carnage that the Avatar and his friends were bringing to the Capital, and of that I was glad.

I took a deep breath as I pulled my hood over my head, hoping that the confined space around my face wouldn't make me nauseous, as it already was. But I held it down and made my way through the silent halls of the jail. It was depressing and grey, and many, many moans of suffering were coming through the walls. I had to close my mind to all of them and walk a little faster, trying to ignore it all.

When I saw him, I don't think that I'd ever seen anything more beautiful. He may have been hunched and scraggly, but he was my Uncle, practically my father, and I needed to talk to him. "U...Uncle," I said softly, standing next to the bars. He didn't have anyone guarding him, strangely, and the guards that I'd met hadn't said a word to me. Not that I'd let them see me anyways.

He didn't seem surprised to see me, but that was probably because Ming had forewarned him. Once I'd had a few spars with her, and we'd talked some, I'd figured out that she gave Iroh his food three times a day, and that was pretty much her job. I'd told her my story, she'd told me hers, and then I'd told her about wanting to see him. He didn't even turn to look at me. "What are you doing here, my child?"

"I had to see you before...something happens." Did I tell him about the Day of Black Sun, or leave him in the dark? Knowing Uncle, he probably already knew. "And I need to talk to you about something important."

"I'm listening," he said simply, although he wouldn't look at me. I didn't say anything until he turned around, looking at me as if he were a thirsty man and I were a drink of water. "You are a sight for sore eyes, Emiko. You look..._different._"

I ran a hand through my short hair, wishing that I'd been able to talk to him before this, so that my hair wouldn't be the only different thing about me. "Y-you can say that."

"And you've gained some weight."

I had to take a deep breath before I could even _consider_ talking. I reached down to the clasp on my cloak, wishing that I would stop fiddling with it and just be able to tell him. "I...I know. That's part of the reason I'm here." His face was set in a strangely stony way, as if he were trying to hide something from me. I probably looked the same way. "There are really two things I need to say. First...I'm not going to be here for long."

"The Avatar," he said simply, and I nodded, my jaw clenched.

My hands were shaking as I said, "Y-yes." It took a moment for me to undo my cloak, but it came off simply enough. "Come to the bars. There's something that I have to show you."

He looked suspicious, but I was sure that my face looked completely terrified and alone. He complied and moved towards the bars as I unbuttoned the bottom of my shirt, a sliver of pale skin showing on my stomach. I knew that I was starting to show. _Only another reason why I have to leave._

I gently took his hand through the bar, glad to know that his hands were still strong and proud and not thin, frail, and shaking. Then, I gently placed his hand against my enlarged stomach.

Uncle's eyes widened. Apparently he hadn't thought that I'd show him that, or anything relevant to the subject. His topaz eyes, much like Zuko's, were full of confusion, wonder, and something else that I couldn't quite place. It took him a moment to speak.

"How...how long?"

"Four months, maybe a little more." He got a distant look on his face a his thumbs gently brushed over my stomach, which I then realized was showing quite a bit, especially since I was so small in the first place. "I have to leave, Uncle. The Avatar has a friend...a Waterbender. She c-can keep him healthy until h-he's born, a-and then m-maybe by then the Avatar w-will have w-won." Tears were starting to stream down my face, and I held back a choked sob.

"Shh..." he whispered as he wrapped his arms around me through the bars. "Hush, my child. Everything will be fine."

"I'm so sorry, Uncle!"

His warm arms around me felt amazing, and I snuggled as close as I could to him with the bars between us. "A child is a precious thing, and you only a child yourself... Just promise me that you will be careful."

I nodded my head vigorously, snuggling into his beard. "I love you, Uncle."

"I love you as well, my child. More than you know."

I sat there for a few more minutes, reveling in the sound of his strong heart against my ear. I was warm, comfortable, and safe, and the baby, for once, wasn't squirming around inside like he usually did. It was so perfect...

So I knew that I had to leave.

I ran away from Uncle without saying goodbye, giving him only one last squeeze before blowing out of there. I ran for as long as I could, through the city, back over the Capitol's gates, finally falling to my knees and sobbing at the front of my room. I sat there for a few moments, just crying, trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong. Why couldn't the world be normal, and this _really_ be our baby, be a baby that we could both raise, be a baby that would be brought up in a world without war?

I knew that it was impossible, though. Pretty soon my baby would be born, and I wouldn't be able to protect him, because I'd be big, according to Doc. And I knew that I needed to protect him. Because, maybe I couldn't find the Avatar. Or maybe I'd be alone on the entire journey until he attacked and killed the Fire Lord. How was I supposed to know what would happen? I didn't.

And so I stood up, dusted myself off, and walked into Zuko's room. I instantly felt an intruder, so I bent down in my Firebending stance, ever aware of the child in my belly. I circled around to stand in the door of my room. But then I saw someone who should not have been there. "Zuko? Where do you think you're going?"

He sighed and pulled his hood back. Guilt and pain was in his eyes as he sat a letter back down on my bed. "What are you doing here, Emiko?"

"What am _I_ doing here?" I asked incredulously, trying my hardest not to reach down and put my hands on my stomach. "This is my _room_! What are _you_ doing placing a goodbye note on my pillow?"

It took him a moment to answer, and he wouldn't meet my eyes. "I'm leaving."

_Is that so?_ I moved forwards, trying to take his hands into mine, but he wouldn't let me touch him. "Not without me you aren't."

"_What_?"

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him to my body. He was hard and warm and smelled completely of the man that I knew. I hoped that he couldn't feel my belly, holding our child, against his stomach. It took me a second to remember what I'd been about to say. "Zuko, the Avatar isn't dead and you know it. Where do you think I was when I was gone?"

"You aren't going," Zuko said pointedly, looking down into my eyes with his, which were almost black with his despair.

"Yes I am. And you can't stop me." To silence him one more time, I pulled his head down to mine and gave him a kiss. I wished that kisses could tell someone how much you loved them, but they couldn't. I wish that he could read my mind and know about our baby, but again, I knew that he couldn't. I didn't know it, but this would be the last time I saw him for a very, very long while.

I picked up the pack I'd already put together, gave him one last peck on the cheek, resisted the urge to hold my stomach, and walked out of the room.

It wasn't that difficult to find an eel hound I could "borrow." I knew where the Avatar said the submarines were, and I was ready to leave with them. I knew that Zuko would be trying to find them, too, but he could do that on his own. I had to find Katara and ask for her help.

I looked up at the sun, willing it to fill me with power so that I could do this. Just from this I knew that Iroh wasn't in jail anymore, and Ozai was in hiding. I could feel Sokka, Toph, and Aang underground, fighting with Azula. But the sun was about to be covered in the eclipse, and I had no clue what that would do to me. I had to act fast.

I had to...

"AH!"

_Oh, Spirits, it hurts!_ I felt a stabbing pain in my abdomen as the moon started to cover the sun, and I clutched my stomach, trying with all my might to stay on the eel hound. It kept moving, even though I was clutching it as hard as I could.

_My...my baby..._

_**Sokka**_

_I lost her._

_Its all my fault._

_I wasted all of our time._

"They're back! "

Katara ran forwards, and Aang swerved Appa so that he wouldn't land on top of her. Then he looked up into the sky, towards the war balloons flying through the air. Sokka knew that he should be more worried, but all that he could think of was how much he'd failed. But his sister was looking up at him expectantly, so he knew that he would have to tell her. "It was all a trap. Azula knew we were coming and she's plotted out every move." He wondered if he sounded as emotionless as he felt as he jumped down from Appa, catching Toph as she jumped off, too. "We just got to get to the beach as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely. "

Aang, next to Sokka, wasn't so easily put down, though. Sokka wished that he could be as enthusiastic as the kid, but it was over! They'd lost. "They've got air power, but so do I! I'm going to do what I can to slow them down." He threw his glider into the air, caught it, and flew away before anyone could say differently.

Katara set her jaw in that way that Sokka always dreaded before climbing onto Appa. "Appa, you and I can help too." Sokka wanted to stop her, but she'd yelled "Yip yip!" before he could stop her.

"Everyone," Sokka yelled, feeling his despair rising, let's get back—" But he was interrupted before he could finish his statement. The Duke was yelling, pointing towards a giant eel hound that was making its way slowly towards them. From what he could see, the rider was unconscious on its back. "Pipsqueak, check that out! The rest of you, back to the subs!"

Sokka stayed behind, counting heads, noting that almost everyone was there. It wasn't until Pipsqueak came up to him, a grim look on his face and a girl in his arms, that he noticed something was wrong. "It's Red," he said lowly, in almost a growl. But his eyes were rimmed with tears, as if he were about to cry.

Emiko was lying in his arms, completely unconscious. She looked fine, as if she were asleep, but he knew better. He lifted her cloak to find her entire abdomen covered in blood. It took him a moment to realize the severity of the situation, but he took the girl from Pipsqueak and held her to him, hoping to stanch the flow of blood, even a little bit.

Sokka let out a small curse before telling Pipsqueak to go to the submarines. The large man took one more look at Emiko before running off, Sokka right behind him. Holding the Firebender took a lot more energy than he thought, but he knew that he would never forgive himself if he let her die. "Don't you die on me, Emiko!" She coughed and turned over in his arms, making him almost drop her.

"Sokka! Look!" Pipsqueak was pointing to the sky, where the balloons were shaking dangerously.

He set his jaw. "Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs." He made his way over to Toph, who was bending a large slab of stone over everyone. Large cracks started appearing in the stone as the bombs hit them, but Toph made more supports for the roof. She'd only given Sokka one strange look for holding Emiko before going back to her task.

"Sokka, is that—?"

He silenced Aang with a terse nod, not wanting to show that he cared for the Firebender. Even though she'd traveled with Zuko that entire time, she hadn't been on his side. Truth be told, she was probably one of the reasons that Zuko didn't try even _harder_ to capture the Avatar.

"Oh Agni," Katara gasped, lying her hand on Emiko's forehead. The look in Katara's eyes said it all, but Sokka didn't want to believe it.

"She's gonna make it," he said, trying to convince himself more than her.

Katara's expression became even more panicked as she lifted up her cloak and put her hand on Emiko's abdomen. "The baby..."

"_What?_"

"They're done!" Toph yelled, lowering the slabs of rock that covered them, making Katara completely ignore the question Sokka had just asked.

"Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" she asked, watching the balloons fly away.

Sokka was about to say it, but Aang figured it out, too. "They're headed for the beach. They're going to destroy the submarines!"

"How are we all going to escape?" _How are we going to save Emiko?_

Hakoda, looking at the girl lying in Sokka's arms, solemnly said, "We're not."

_Of course. _"Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win!" They _could _still win. And if Emiko had been awake, she would have had another great way to escape. But his father had other ideas.

"Yes, with the Avatar we _could_ still win on any other day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together. Get the wounded to safety."

Sokka hated to admit it, but he was right. Katara, on the other hand, didn't believe so. "_What _?""We can't leave you behind! We won't leave _anyone_ behind."

The soft look that Sokka's father gave Katara made him feel slightly jealous, that Katara would always be his little girl, but Sokka would have to be the grown-up, the protector. "You're our only chance in a long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."

Bato nodded. Sokka wondered how he'd always been able to stay in his father's shadow, to be the second man. Then he realized that it was the same way with him and Aang. "The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners but we'll all survive this battle."

Sokka held Emiko a little tighter, looking up into the sky. "Lets go. They're at the beach already." He was the first one to make it to the outcrop over the beach, and he despaired as the bombs were dropped. One by one the submarines exploded, completely destroyed. Sokka closed his eyes and laid his head on Emiko's, her short hair tickling his face.

By the time he'd turned back around, Toph and Teo were already in Appa's saddle. Pipsqueak was helping the Duke into his seat. "I'll miss you, Pipsqueak," the little guy sniffed, hugging Pipsqueak around the head.

"Take care, The Duke."

Everyone was saying their goodbyes. Haru put his fist into his hand and bowed respectfully to his father. The Duke and Pipsqueak were still holding each other, and Teo and his father were looking at each other from far away. Sokka didn't want to say goodbye to his father yet, so he allowed Toph to bend some steps up to Appa, where he could set Emiko down without hurting her even more. She groaned, her eyelids fluttered, but she didn't wake up.

"We lost today," he heard his father say, "but we've never been this close. We tasted victory and that counts for something." He couldn't look at his father or his sister.

"We'll miss you Dad." He turned in time to see his father and sister in a hug that made his heart wrench.

"...Bye, Dad." He managed to give his father one last hug. "We won't be apart for too long this time. I promise." He stood there only a moment more, making sure that everyone was on Appa.

Katara instantly jumped back onto Appa, right next to Emiko, before they finally took off. "We need to get out of here. Haru is burned, and Emiko..." Katara's hand were shaking as she removed Emiko's cloak. Aang, who was driving Appa away, dared look back at the bloodied clothing on Emiko's legs. He paled, and Sokka reached out to brush some hair off of her pale face.

"I-I don't know if I can save it," Katara said softly, her hands over the girl's abdomen. Tears were forming in her eyes, and Sokka wondered exactly what his sister was talking about.

"'It'?" he asked, glancing down at Emiko's stomach, which seemed slightly bulged out, as if...

"The baby's gone...it didn't make it."

* * *

**DON'T HATE ME! D:**

The sun...the sun is beating down on me...

How can the world be so cruel? The sun, the beautiful sun is alive and well, even though, for a moment, it had been covered. But my child...my child was gone. Its life force had drained from inside my abdomen, it was simply...gone.

"_Emiko...Emiko! Don't you leave me!" Katara pushed Emiko's diaphragm three more times, willing the girl's heart to beat._

"Are you happy now?" I asked the clear blue sky above as I lay on the grass, my white kimono billowing out around me. "You've ruined my life."

"**I haven't ruined your life. I've simply...changed it." **The monster slithered out of its cave, its centipede's body creating thousands of sounds that echoed throughout the small, enclosed space. But wasn't it filled with wide, open spaces...?

I didn't even bother looking towards that...that _monster_. "Koh."

"**Yeeesss?"**

"Go to the Abyss."

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**And I know you're going to be angry with me again, but... Two weeks until the next chapter, sorry! ):**


	25. Zuko, Here!

**I'm sorry for the two week break, guys, but McDonalds has been kicking my butt! Not only am I in all Advanced Placement classes in high school, but I work thirty or so hours a week with a day off. That doesn't leave much time for me to finish this story up. I've got two or three chapters to REALLY fix before I have four chapters that are already fixed, and then I've got to write the end of Season Three from scratch. **

**Anyways, in this chapter, Emiko and Sokka have an Oprah Winfrey situation...but who's getting Oprah Winfrey-ed, _really_?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Nor the phrase "Zuko, Here!" **

* * *

**Zuko, Here!**

The sun...the sun is beating down on me...

How can the world be so cruel? The sun, the beautiful sun is alive and well, even though, for a moment, it had been covered. But my child...my child was gone. Its life force had drained from inside my abdomen, and it was simply...gone.

"_Emiko...Emiko! Don't you leave me!" Katara pushed Emiko's diaphragm three more times, willing the girl's heart to beat._

"Are you happy now?" I asked the clear blue sky above as I lay on the grass, my white kimono billowing out around me. "You've ruined my life."

"**I haven't ruined your life. I've simply...changed it." **The monster slithered out of its cave, its centipede's body creating thousands of sounds that echoed throughout the small, enclosed space. But wasn't it filled with wide, open spaces...?

I didn't even bother looking towards that...that _monster_. "Koh."

"**Yeeesss?"**

"Go to the Abyss."

"_Aang, she's not responding!"_

"**Can't you see? We're already here."**

I looked around the large space, finally seeing that the sky was peeling in places, and the grass was rough, almost as if made out of a harsh cloth. Still, I tried to see the brightness in my confined space. Koh, towards the side, where a small cave was, was standing towards the darker side of my paradise. I didn't want to look towards him. "Are we?"

"**Smart child...although your mother was, as well."**

_Tears were flowing from Katara's face as she bended the water around her, willing Emiko's blood to flow, for her wounds to heal. "Don't die on me, Emiko...please!"_

"Leave my mother out of this," I said without inflection, wondering if he was trying to get a rise out of me. Apparently he was, although I wouldn't let him. "You didn't get her face, and you won't get mine."

"**Oh, in time, you never know what will happen," **he said happily, apparently pondering his future, where he had my face. I could just see the perverted happiness on his face.

"Get out of my life."

"**Oh, my fellow Spirit...you will have more children."**

This interested me, but I couldn't show him any emotion. Just the possibilities running through my mind made me want to crack a face, either one of happiness or confusion. "Oh? Well I wanted that one."

"_Katara...she was pregnant?"_

He simply scoffed, and I could imagine him admiring his nails...if he had any. **"There will be others. Enough said. And now, unfortunately, child...you are being resuscitated. Just remember...you must live your life. It is a sad truth. In fact, your pitiful existence is sad. But one day, I will have your face. I haven't had a Sun Spirit's face in..."** I looked up in time to see thick black hair falling down the sides of his body, along with the fragile face of a child. **"A _very_ long time."**

_**Katara**_

Emiko sat up straight, coughing, crying, and trying to catch her breath at the same time. She wrapped her arms around herself, choking up the water that Katara had used to heal her with. Katara instantly wrapped her arms around the girl, running her hands up and down her body, trying to calm her down before she hurt herself again.

"_AHAAA!_" she cried, clutching Katara to the point of pain.

Katara looked up at Aang for help, but he was sitting with his face in his hands, shaking his head. Her brother had left earlier, and Toph had run the moment Emiko had woken up. She wouldn't be getting any help in comforting the girl. "Emiko...I-I'm sorry, i-it'll be okay..."

"M-m-my b-b-baby!" Emiko sobbed, rocking back and forth with Katara's effort to calm her down. Her hair was plastered to her head from all of the water that Katara had used to heal her. Her clothes were changed from the original, bloody cloaks, to a simple tan uniform that Katara could maneuver around to work on the...the wounds.

"I'm so sorry..."

Katara wanted to do something more than just apologize and heal the physical wounds, but there was nothing she could do for the mental ones. She simply held Emiko until the sobbing put her back to sleep. The Waterbender laid the Firebender back down on her pallet, onto the cold floor of the Western Air Temple.

Just looking at the poor soul who lay on the cold marble broke Katara's heart. _She would have made an amazing mother..._

"Aang," Katara said softly, not taking her eyes off of Emiko's shaking form.

"What." The boy hadn't even looked up from his position on the ground.

She had to take a deep breath before she could speak. Her mouth was so dry that she could barely swallow. "We...we need to decide what we're gonna do now." Although she hated to admit it, they needed to look at the situation at hand. What had happened to Emiko was horrible, and the girl was going to be scarred for life. But to save the world...

Aang finally looked up, his eyes slightly red as he stood up shakily. "R-right." He created a current that picked up his staff, which he then sat against the bench that he propped himself down onto. "It almost seems wrong to talk about it."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Sokka asked, looking over at the sleeping Emiko on the floor. "We can't just sit here and feel sorry for ourselves."

Katara couldn't believe the way he was acting! "She lost her _child_," she snapped at him, standing up and clenching her fists as she looked at her brother.

"She lost the Prince's _parasite_," Sokka said simply, clenching his jaw.

Katara was about to tackle Sokka, to take him down a notch, to make him take it back, but Toph got between them in her usual way. "Woah! Guys, we can't afford to fight right now. We need to figure out a new plan."

Normally, since she was the cool-headed one, she sat down and nodded, taking a deep breath. "Right...yeah. A new plan." That didn't mean that she didn't want to shove a rock down his throat for what he'd said.

"Nothing's changed," Sokka said, glaring at his sister. "If you ask me, the new plan is the old plan. Aang just needs to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes. End of story."

The Avatar still looked shocked from what had happened. "Oh, yeah, that's great." He looked up at his surroundings, the Air Temple, and his friends. He finally seemed to be back to himself after a moment. "Yeah...no problem, I'll just get right on that."

She wanted help him somehow, to take away some of his burden, but she knew that she couldn't. Even if she could take all of it, really, she would take it, just to get the look of anguish off of his face. "No one said that it would be easy."

"Well, it's not even gonna be possible!" Aang shouted angrily, suddenly gaining back some of his pessimistic Aang-ness. "Where am I supposed to get a Firebending teacher? The one Firebender on our side is..." He looked down onto the sleeping form of Emiko, which was starting to stir with his shouting. "She's...yeah."

"We could look for Jeong Jeong," Katara said softly, not wanting to wake Emiko up and see that horrifying sobbing again.

"Yeah right." He fell back onto the bench he as sitting on, throwing his arm over his eyes to block out the sunlight. It looked like a very, very pitiful gesture. " Like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again."

"Look...we'll figure something out," Katara said, trying to sound optimistic, wondering if she failed at that. "For the meantime, we need to make sure that Emiko is alright. Maybe she can help Aang with some of the Firebending."

Sokka didn't look as if he really believed in anything that Emiko did. So, of course, he was the one who asked, "Where can we find a Firebender...?"

That was when everything went to Agni. "Hey! Zuko here."

**Emiko**

That one moment of consciousness had completely taken everything that I'd had. Katara, a hopeful friend, had held me, while the rest of the group had stayed away as if I were a foreign entity, not able to even come near me in case I might need their comfort. I'd known Toph better; why hadn't she tried to comfort me, instead of the Waterbender?

Ah, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I was blissfully unaware of anything that was going on around me. Nothing mattered in my unconsciousness. Not even the sound of his voice would...would it? _"He's _not_ my friend!" _No...no, he couldn't be back! He couldn't know what happened to our baby!

"_That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!"_ Was the ground shaking? Oh, gods, I was going to die, and I couldn't even open my eyes. He was right in front of me...if only I could reach out, touch him, tell him I was sorry!

"_You once said that you thought we could be friends. She believes in me, why can't you?" _Zuko, I do believe in you!_ "You know I have good in me."_

"_There's no way we can trust you __after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."_

"_You need to get out of here. _Now._"_

"_I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!"_ No, he wasn't! He wasn't that person...he was the one who loved me, the one who wanted to have...to have a child...?

"_Either you leave, or we attack."_ No...no, Sokka!

"_If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner."_ Zuko...in the camp? Where he could see me like this? _"I have to be with her, and I'll sacrifice myself to do it."_

"_No, we won't!" _my Waterbending savior cried, and I wanted to actually cry. _"I...I've gotten her through the worst of it. She's...better."_ Better? You called this state, where I couldn't even wake up, _better?_ Where my child was gone, and my life was over, _better? "Get out of here and don't come back. We're taking care of her."_

I had to admit, yes, she was taking care of me. But they couldn't send Zuko away! I needed him to hold me, to tell me that everything would be alright. He needed to know about his child...but seeing him everyday meant that I wouldn't be able to let go, to finally realize that yes, I could have other children. Maybe what I needed was time alone. Away from him and everybody else.

_**Sokka**_

It was late that night, and Sokka couldn't sleep. He'd been thinking about Zuko, the freak, wanting to join their group. The fact that the creep had followed them was proof enough that he was still after Aang. And why would he want Emiko back if she'd been on their side all along?

_She lost the Prince's parasite. _He felt horrible about saying that, but still...how could she have slept with...with _him?_ When he'd first met her, she hadn't seemed like that kind of person. She'd glanced at General Iroh with love and respect in her eyes, and she'd been there for _him_, not Zuko. But then he'd seen her right after Zuko had betrayed her, and she'd been...hollow. Not the same, loving girl that she'd been before.

_Ahg! _He shouted into the air, though inside, he guessed, as he threw off his covers and sat straight up. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep, maybe because the room was so bright, with the moonlight falling over him. When he looked out his window, the full moon was high in the sky, he wondered if Yue was watching over him. He knew that she would want him to check on Emiko, to make sure that he was okay. _She lost the Prince's parasite..._ It repeated over and over in his head like a mantra.

Sokka stood up and pulled on a pair of pants over his underwear, not bothering with a shirt. He didn't even slip on shoes as he walked through the dusty hallways of the abandoned Air Temple. Everything was quiet, except for his footsteps, which echoed through the empty halls.

So when he got to Emiko's room, he was surprised not to find her there, and hear another set of footsteps leading away from the room. _That's strange...she's been knocked out for hours, now. Why suddenly wake up?_

"Emiko?" he asked softly, and the footsteps halted for a moment before going again. He decided, against his better judgment and need for sleep, to follow her. At least, he hoped it was her. But then again, who could it be? _Zuko? Did he...did he come all the way here to take her?_

Sokka was sweating bullets after that thought. He picked up his speed, just a little, thinking only the worst, like how his sister would kill him if she found out that he'd let Zuko take her. Or how he could try and seduce her again and she'd be back to that small, hollow woman she'd been before. So when he broke into the moonlight outside the Air Temple, into the small courtyard that gave a view of the entire canyon, he was surprised to see that she was just...sitting there.

Emiko was sitting there, in the middle of the courtyard, staring up at the moon as she sat Indian-style on the floor. She wasn't saying anything, or moving, just looking...up.

He hesitantly strode forwards, trying to decipher if he should say anything or not. Should he help her get to her room? "Emiko?"

She moved as if he'd surprised her, which he had, and then looked back at him. Her bright yellow eyes were confused, but they didn't look crazy as they had whenever she'd woken up earlier. "Oh. Hi, Sokka." Then she turned her eyes back up to the moon. "It's a beautiful night."

He'd been prepared for yelling and crying...but he hadn't been prepared for whatever this was supposed to be. "Uh...yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "yeah, it is." Underneath the moonlight, her short hair almost gleamed white, but it was just a trick of the light.

Emiko didn't even look back at him as she patted the ground next to her, signaling him to sit down. He didn't want to, but he figured that if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to get her back into her room, where Toph could keep an eye on her in case Zuko decided to come back for her. So he plopped down next to the short teenager, telling himself that he wouldn't talk long and that his bed was calling him.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, until finally she asked, "Her name was Yue, wasn't it?"

A hole almost ripped through his chest. "Wh..._what_?" How had she even remembered that?

She still didn't look at him. Instead, her eyes were reflecting the moon. "Yue. The Moon Spirit." Her strange, yellow eyes almost seemed silver in the moonlight.

"Uh...yeah. Her name was Yue. Princess of the Northern Water Tribe and all that." He tried to play it off as unimportant, but his voice got stuck in his throat by the end.

Emiko uncrossed her legs, instead bringing them up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Finally, she turned her head to the side, looking Sokka in the eyes. He saw a deep sadness etched there, but a courage that could hold a person together for a long, long time. "I can sense that you two had been close. She was very beautiful."

He let out a sigh. "Yeah, she was." But in a completely different way than Emiko. Where as Yue had had pure white hair and deep, chocolate skin with those beautiful blue eyes, Emiko was a jumble of colors, from her midnight-black hair, to her pale skin with the rosy cheeks. Even her eyes, which were the color of the sun at noon, had a different hue to them than any other Fire Nation citizen. Yue's blue eyes had been different from any Water Tribe member's, too.

"I remember you saying something about you being connected to the Sun Spirit," he said without meaning to, it just kind of came out. He was surprised at himself. It seemed to make her face harden, so, for a moment, he was disappointed in himself. But then she went back to her soft, sad smile.

"Mm-hmm. My mom is the Sun Spirit. And so was her mother before her, like I'll be when I die, and my daughter will be after me." Now she looked up into the sky, back at the Moon Spirit. She was silent for a long time, and Sokka was almost sure that she wasn't going to say anything else. But then she said the last thing that he thought she would ever utter. "I wonder what kind of mother I would have been."

There was nothing more uncomfortable to Sokka than that question. He couldn't believe that she'd let the Prince get near her, let alone _sleep_ with her. So when he didn't say anything, she looked at him again with a little bit of sadness and a lot of slyness in her gaze. "I, uh..."

"You never liked me, did you, Sokka?" she asked smugly, though her sadness cut him through. "You never could understand why I stayed with Zuko, even though I knew that he was bad."

"No, I didn't understand," he said harshly, although it might have come out a little _too_ harsh. "Why would you stay with that evil, self-absorbed, psycho teenager who did nothing but torment us?"

She smiled knowingly, but still, she wouldn't meet his gaze. "If it weren't for Zuko, I would be dead right now, thrice over. And I wouldn't even be here if Iroh hadn't..." She took a deep, shaky breath before she could continue. "So don't look at me and judge me by what you see on the outside. Me _or_ Zuko."

Sokka had nothing to say to that. All he could think about was the thousands of innocent men and women that Ozai had put to death, either by his own hand or by the hands of his soldiers. And Zuko was his _son_! All of that blood-thirsty, psycho-craziness had to come from _somewhere_. And Sokka told her that. He told her exactly what he thought of Zuko.

"You can't judge a person by their parentage," she whispered, her voice barely a breath.

"Like you can talk! Your mother is the Sun Spirit; she's practically one of the holiest people in the universe!"

Emiko smirked, then rolled her lips together as if to keep from laughing. Finally, she crossed her arms and buried her face into them, her shoulders shaking with laughter. She let them become audible, and it was a great thing to hear after all the girl had been through. "Y-you _r-r-really_ didn't know my mother!" Her laugh was melodic, a high-pitched bell laugh that surprised him by how loud it was.

Obviously, he was confused. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"My mother was a pirate, Sokka," she said, still laughing when she finally looked up at him, a smile in her bright yellow eyes. "She plundered, and stole, and killed. She ran away when my grandfather deserted the Fire Nation Navy after my grandmother died."

But that made no sense! A Spirit was pure, a Spirit made up every element of the world, from the moon, to the ocean, to fire, and if it was corrupted... "Of course! It's fire!" he exclaimed, glad to have figured it out. Fire was already corrupted, so therefore, so was the Spirit.

"No, the Sun _God_ is in control of all _Fire_ Spirits," she said, conjuring a small ball of flame into her hands. "My mother is the Spirit who controls the _essence_ of fire. She keep the hope of fire alive, that it will sustain us, that it will always burn hot and keep us warm. Fire is what a person thinks of it. When my grandfather thought that it was nothing but destruction, that's what it became around him. My mother controls it, decrees what child will be born with the power of fire and what child won't." She looked like she wanted to continue, but then a thought came across her face. "That...that might be why my child wasn't born...because it _was _a child of the Sun, and when the eclipse..."

She was going to continue even more, but even before the tears could come, a loud rumble shook the ground. "Toph?" Sokka asked the air, though maybe Emiko, and he stood up, hoping that nothing bad had happened. Emiko stood up in a flash of heat, her emotions probably making her bending erratic. _I'd better be careful..._

He ran towards the area where the large lotus-tile fountain was, their "main base" of sorts, and saw that everyone was out, looking for the source, and all of them were in their nightclothes. Pipsqueak looked strange in his baby blue night clothes and a small, light blue hat. It would have been comical if it hadn't been such a scary moment. Suddenly a hole appeared in the back wall, rocks tumbling out of it before a familiar head of black hair slid out and to the floor, grunting in pain.

"Toph, what happened?" Katara asked in her way, bending down to check for any damage. Emiko, next to him, had gone completely still.

"My feet got burned," she said in a painful voice, though she appeared to try not to show it. Emiko instantly pushed everyone out of the way except Katara, bending down next to her friend's feet as Katara asked how. "Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night..."

"_Zuko_?" Emiko asked softly, gently running her hands over the bottom of Toph's feet. "He's here?" She sent accusatory glances at Katara and Sokka, as if it were all their faults.

"You did _what_?" Aang shouted, grimacing. "I can't believe it!"

"_Zuko?_"

"Guys, concentrate!" Emiko shouted, picking up Toph all on her lonesome and leading her over to the large fountain. "Why did you go look for Zuko?"

Toph looked uncomfortable up in the air. "I just thought he could be helpful to us. And if I talked to him, maybe we could work something out." Katara followed behind, bending water out of her waterskin and molding it around Toph's feet to heal them. Sokka only watched the water glow for a moment before he looked away.

"So he attacked you?" Aang asked, disgust evident on his face.

"Well...he did and he didn't. It was sort of an accident."

"But he did Firebend at you," Emiko said for clarification, a hard look on her face. She sat the Earthbender down, setting her feet in the pool. Toph let out a groan that sounded like a mixture between pain and relief.

"Y...Yeah."

"See, you trusted Zuko and you got burned... literally," Sokka said, giving a glance towards Emiko to see if she understood. "It's happened a lot, actually."

Emiko shot him a glare, but before she could say anything, Katara finished her healing and put her water back into her skin. "It's gonna take a while for your feet to get better. I wish I could've worked on them sooner."

Toph snorted in dry humor. "Yeah, me too."

Sokka had stood therefor a moment, gloomily staring into the pool of water, but he knew that he had to say something. All he could think about was the burn on Emiko's arm, or her stomach from Azula, and now Toph's feet? Even _Zuko_ had been hurt by fire. So he knew what he had to do. "He's clearly too dangerous to be left alone. We're gonna have to go after him."

Aang seemed disappointed by this, and Emiko infuriated and a little green in the face, but Aang said, "I hate to go looking for a fight, but you're right. After what he did to Toph, I don't think we have a choice."

Emiko didn't look as if she really wanted to say anything about it, but knew that she had to. "I'll go."

"No!" Katara and Sokka cried out at the same time, causing Sokka to flush in the face and look away. Katara glared at him for a moment, then turned kind, motherly eyes onto Emiko. "You're not ready to see him. Not yet."

"Look," she said, a little shakily as she stood up and dusted her knees off, "I'm going to have to confront him sometimes. And I've already told you, I'm not going to be Aang's teacher. Something tells me that it's wrong. Zuko is the only other person who can teach him."

"We can find another way than sending you out there," Aang said lowly, not able to meet Emiko's eyes.

"Maybe just invite him back here," Toph said from the edge of the pool. _Well _you_ look like you're feeling better already, _Sokka thought harshly. "He's already offered himself up as a prisoner once. "

"Yeah..." Sokka said, liking the sound of that idea. "We get him to come back and say he'll be our prisoner. Then we'll jump him and really make him our prisoner!" He smiled, knowing that his plan was foolproof. "He'll never suspect it."

"I'm going," Emiko said, not meeting any of their eyes. "I can't sleep anyways. And besides, I don't think he'll attack anyone else tonight after he attacked Toph."

"And if he does?" Sokka asked, wishing he could slap some sense into her.

"Burn me once," she said softly, looking up at the moon, "shame on you." Now she looked Sokka directly in the eye. "Burn me twice, shame on me. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."

_Are you **sure**? h_e wanted to scream at her, shaking her body until he got some sense into her. But just by the look in her eyes, (which were watering,) he could tell that she wasn't going to take no as an answer.

Toph 'looked' at Emiko, an almost pleading look coming off the blind girl's feet. "I know you, Red. You're kinda ditsy sometimes, but you're not stupid. Going out there after..." Toph actually blushed, and so did Emiko, although the latter's was more of an angry flush. "You know. It's stupid. And besides...you wouldn't leave me here like this, would you? Because now I know how the rest of you guys feel. Not being able to see with your feet stinks."

Emiko actually cracked a small smile, but it didn't last for long. Sokka could almost see the hairs on the back of her neck rise. "Guys..."

"What?" Aang asked, having disappeared to look for a towel, now coming back.

"MOVE!"

Suddenly the entire alcove collapsed, leaving all of them covered in a thick layer of dust. Sokka personally had a lump the size of an ostrich-horse egg on his head, but he was too worried about moving Toph out of the way, and getting Emiko to safety. Because up on the ledge where the shot had come from was a tall, muscular man with an eye in the center of his forehead. Sokka knew from experience what that eye could do. So he grasped Emiko around the waist, just as Aang picked up Toph, and then he heard a voice that made Emiko stiffen in his grasp.

"Stop!" the Fire Nation Prince yelled from the ledge where Combustion Man was standing. He was holding his arms out in front of the muscular man, as if that alone would make him quit. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore."

Emiko dug her face into Sokka's shoulder as he tried to pull her along, but finally she just stopped. "Emiko, come on!" _And you think you could have gone to get him? Look at you!_ But he didn't say 'I told you so.' Not yet, anyways.

"_She lost the Prince's parasite."_

Said Prince then cried out, "The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop!"

But Combustion Man shoved Zuko out of the way and fired another blast at the top of the fountain, completely destroying where they had all just been standing. Sokka managed to pull Emiko down and out of the way before a set of beams fell down and destroyed the place where she had just been.

Emiko started sobbing under him, and Sokka wanted to do something, _anything_, to stop it. He hated women when they cried. He couldn't do anything about it! So he gently rubbed her back as she sobbed out, "He sent an _assassin _after you? I'm sorry, I thought he didn't know...I thought they all thought you were dead, I'm sorry, so sorry..._I'm so hard on my friends._"

"If you keep attacking, I won't pay you!" Zuko called out. Sokka wanted to slap him and tell him that he was only making her worse, but he kept on. "All right, I'll pay you double to stop!" Still, no matter what Zuko did—shoot flames at the guy, kick him, grab a hold of his jersey—Combustion Man wouldn't stop.

Suddenly Sokka noticed that a warm being wasn't below him. He looked left, right, and then finally up, until he saw Emiko climbing up vines like a ship's boy in some rigging. "Emiko!" he shouted, and Katara cursed when she saw the Firebender running to Zuko's safety.

_**Emiko**_

_Don't you dare leave me, Zuko!_ He was fighting the man like a maniac. There was no way that I would let some freakshow with a third eye take him away before I could even tell him that I lost our baby!

Suddenly the man looked at Zuko as if he were an annoying fly. I noticed and felt the energy building up in his head as I landed yards behind him, and he sent flying a blast towards Zuko. "NO!" I cried, sending White Fire into his back. That made the man lose some energy in the beam. Zuko shielded himself with a circular wall of fire, too, which might have helped. This protected him from the beam, but the force of it sent him backwards and over the side of the walkway.

My heart stopped inside my chest. "Zuko!" I cried, pushing the man to the side as I rushed over, trying to see where he'd gone. But in his place was nothing. "You...you monster!" I yelled at the man, who had a very strange look on his face.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka looked up in surprise.

I didn't know what I was doing. My emotions were going wild and I didn't know if I wanted to save Zuko or strangle him. I sent blasts of fire at the man, who surprised, blocked each one and grabbed me by the collar. He held a fist up as if to punch me, but stopped. He looked me in the face for a moment, his brown eyes tinkling with remembrance. "You won't hit me," I growled at him, now holding completely still in his grasp. He looked as if he would rather be in any position except this. So he sighed and sat me down, gently nudging me so that I would fall onto my butt.

Even though it hadn't been harsh, it'd still hurt! I sat there for a moment, tears stinging my eyes, when I noticed the man aiming down at my friends again. Aang got up and ran away, making a whirlwind of dust before another blast was sent at him. He jumped out of the fire and smoke and sent a torrent of air towards the guy who jumped through it and sent another beam at Aang. The Avatar jumped backwards and landed next to Katara, but the landed on a slab of stone above the Avatar before sending another blast that missed.

Katara jumped up and, using Waterbending, sent a wave upwards. I didn't dare go anywhere down there. Coming down out of her jump, she crossed her arms and made her fingers into claws making the water turn to ice shards. The man ducked and blocked the ice with his metal arm. He got up, angered, to see that the Avatar and his friends were no longer in his sight. He sent another angry blast down.

It turned out that Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph were behind the nearby wall. They sheltered themselves, and I breathed in relief that they were safe, if only for a moment.

"He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliff side!" That had to be Toph.

"I can't step out to Waterbend at him without getting blown up!" I heard Katara yell. "And I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here anyways." I saw her glancing at me, but what could I do? I was in the corer, desperately trying to control my depression. That man…and Zuko…and… It was all I could do not to destroy them all. I buried my face into my hands and felt myself sobbing.

"I know how to get an angle on him!" Sokka exclaimed somewhere behind my pity-party. I had no clue what he was talking about, just that two more blasts exploded down there and I couldn't get back down to help unless I jumped, which so wasn't happening. "Alright buddy, don't fail me now...

I heard the man take a deep breath and then he turned around...BAM! Right in the forehead! Sokka had thrown his boomerang and hit the man right in his greasy little third eye. He fell to the ground, dazed.

"Yeah, boomerang!" Sokka exclaimed in child-like glee, jumping up and catching it. I would have laughed if I hadn't just seen Zuko fall to his death, or if the explosion man hadn't then decided to get up again. "Aw, boomerang..."

He and the rest of his friends ran, trying to get away from another blast, but...another blast didn't come. I looked over the edge at the man who was showering sparks from his third eye. He put a hand over it and then _WHOOSH!_ A small eruption flared from his head, devouring his body and the pagoda he was standing on. Something went flying, too, down into the chasm around the Air Temple.

And that was probably the time that I passed out. Or I think I did. You know, after sleeping for hours on end the day before, you'd think that I wouldn't need to sleep. But not sleeping that night had killed me. So, I went out like a light. Literally.

_**Sokka**_

"You know, she weighs more than I thought she would."

"_Sokka!_"

"What, it's true!"

At the moment he was carrying Emiko down from the ledge the _long_ way, not the way Zuko had used to get down. Walking down a path with a heavy unconscious girl in your arms was hard enough, let alone swinging down a vine! He looked down at her pale face and wondered what the heck she had been thinking, going up there like that. He remembered her being picked up and feeling a strange protectiveness growing inside of him...

He cleared his throat and looked at his sister. "She going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine. She just overexerted herself," Katara said softly, looking at the girl with a motherly look in her eyes. "I'm sure that after she gets some more rest, she'll be just fine."

_I'm not so sure about that,_ he thought, wondering if Zuko was settling in comfortably. He hadn't even seen her up there, she'd just collapsed and he'd passed right by her. Speaking of him... "How's our guest settling in?"

Katara's face instantly went dark. "I showed him to his room." Obviously Katara wasn't happy about their new recruit, either. "But...Aang needs a teacher. And Emiko isn't ready to teach him." She let out an agitated sigh and ruffled her hair in an irritated manner. "What does she _see _in him, Sokka?"

"Good question." He looked down onto her soft, pale face which was a little flushed. She had short but thick black lashes that matched her short and thick black hair. And her eyebrows were arched regally, making her cheekbones appear higher and her jaw appear more defined. Her lips were awkwardly wide, her nose slightly too large for her face, but all of it worked with her short height and stout body. "_Very_ good question."

* * *

**Um...some of you might start getting mad at me with the whole Emiko/Sokka chemistry. I'm a diehard Sokka/Ty Lee and Sokka/Azula fan, so don't worry...I have plans.**

**Your thoughts?**

Katara and I sat in an easy silence as we watched the boys in a heated conversation. Well, Zuko was more awkward, and Aang seemed nervous, but it was heated, nonetheless. Aang tried a Firebending move, but it came out as a puff of smoke. Zuko then demonstrated, making Aang step back. But...nothing came out.

Alright, pause. Things got a little weird there, I'm not gonna lie. I was used to getting premonitions. It wasn't an unusual occurrence. Normally it was of something from the future that may or may not happen. Sometimes it was of nothing in particular, just some message from the Spirit world. Well...this was different. It wasn't from the future, it seemed to be a very, _very_ long time ago.

"_You aren't leaving, and that's the end of that,"_ an old, wrinkled man with bright white hair said below me, right where Aang and Zuko had been. I could still see their silhouettes where they'd been frozen, and Katara next to me was transparent and frozen. _"It's too dangerous. You have no idea what the Sun Warriors are capable of."_

_Where am I_? I wondered, looking around. But I was in the same exact place I'd been before. Tents were set up all along the pathways below me, and individuals who looked very, very old-fashioned walked around with gear over their shoulders, on their backs, or being dragged behind them. Everything was washed-out. The sky, where it should have been a radiant cerulean, was a dull robin's egg blue.

"_But Dagur...I've got to have one! I've been having strange dreams, and I swear I hear something calling me, pulling me towards the Temples..."_ That was when I noticed the girl. She was tall and lithe, with long black hair flowing down her back in thin, straight strands. Her back was turned to me, so I couldn't see her face. _"Please, I'll take Jin-Ho with me. I've got to go, Dagur!"_

The old man gently ruffled the girl's hair, making her clench her fists. He just smiled at her. _"Maybe one day. But just as fire cannot be played with, neither can these creatures."_

The girl narrowed her eyes in such a familiar way that it sent a shiver of remembrance through me. _"I want a dragon, Dagur...and I'm going to have one."_

And that was it. It just ended, and I was left with hearing Katara say, "...and dinner is going to be so awkward, I don't want to even think about it." Katara stood up, stretched her back, and held out a hand to me. "You coming?"

I took a deep, shuttering breath, trying to figure out what had just happened. "Uh...yeah. Definitely."

* * *

**Review! Oh, and I'm sorry, but...another two weeks! (It's ACT week. Don't kill me!) **

**Review!**


	26. I Want a Dragon

**I'm alive, I swear! At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm sorry. I've had Prom, 30 hours of work a week, plus high school. It's finals week! After yesterday, I'm done with school. D-O-N-E. Well, at least until after summer is over. Then I'm a Senior! I'll be yours ALL summer. Promise!**

**Anyways, in this chapter, the Spirits send Emiko a message or two...or five.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Do dragons talk? Just wondering.**

* * *

**I Want a Dragon  
**_**And I'm Going to Have One**_

He was beautiful. His body flowed with the movement of fire. I wanted to reach out, to touch his hands, his arms, to hold him, but I didn't think that I could go to him. He hadn't come to me yet, either. I didn't know if he knew, or if it was just difficult to realize that I was avoiding him.

The one person I never thought I'd see next to him was following his movements. They were stretches, really, but just seeing him moving in such a familiar way was making my heart tear.

"Is it hard to watch him?" came Katara's voice from behind me. I turned my head to see that the Waterbender was standing behind me, her long brown hair down to the middle of her back. A brush was in her hands.

"Hey, Katara," I said softly, wrapping my arms around my legs as I scooted over for her to sit next to me. "Yeah. Just a little."

"He never knew, did he?" She took my offering and sat down next to me, swinging her legs over the edge of the roof where I'd been sitting. I could see Zuko, but he couldn't see me.

I felt my throat constricting, but I wouldn't let myself cry. "No." To stop from crying, I took the brush from her hands and motioned for her to turn around. She seemed surprised that I would offer but still turned. I began brushing her thick, chocolate hair. Sometimes it made me miss my long hair, too, but I'd never let it grow out _ever_ again.

"I'm sorry." And she really did seem sorry. I liked Katara. She never knew when to stop asking questions that went too far, but she was there when you really needed her. And yeah, she was a nag, but it was in a good way. If I could sit and talk with anyone for a long period of time, besides Toph and Uncle, it would be her.

But besides that, I wanted to say, _No you aren't. _I didn't, though. I just kept brushing her hair, a section at a time. I knew for a fact that she didn't like Zuko, that she completely despised him. But I knew that Zuko would teach Aang.

...Maybe.

Katara and I sat in an easy silence as we watched the boys in a heated conversation. Well, Zuko was more awkward, and Aang seemed nervous, but it was heated, nonetheless. Aang tried a Firebending move, but it came out as a puff of smoke. Zuko then demonstrated, making Aang step back. But...nothing came out.

Alright, pause. Things got a little weird there, I'm not gonna lie. I was used to getting premonitions. It wasn't an unusual occurrence. Normally it was of something from the future that may or may not happen. Sometimes it was of nothing in particular, just some message from the Spirit world. Well...this was different. It wasn't from the future, it seemed to be a very, _very_ long time ago.

"_You aren't leaving, and that's the end of that,"_ an old, wrinkled man with bright white hair said below me, right where Aang and Zuko had been. I could still see their silhouettes where they'd been frozen, and Katara next to me was transparent and frozen. Her hair was sticking out where I'd been brushing it, but I wasn't holding it anymore. _"It's too dangerous. You have no idea what the Sun Warriors are capable of."_

_Where am I_? I wondered, looking around. But I was in the same exact place I'd been before. Tents were set up all along the pathways below me, and individuals who looked very, very old-fashioned walked around with gear over their shoulders, on their backs, or being dragged behind them. Everything was washed-out. The sky, where it should have been a radiant cerulean, was a dull robin's egg blue.

"_But Dagur...I've got to have one! I've been having strange dreams, and I swear I hear something calling me, pulling me towards the Temples..."_ That was when I noticed the girl. She was tall and lithe, with long black hair flowing down her back in thin, straight strands. Her back was turned to me, so I couldn't see her face. _"Please, I'll take Jin-Ho with me. I've got to go, Dagur!"_

The old man gently ruffled the girl's hair, making her clench her fists. He just smiled at her. _"Maybe one day. But just as fire cannot be played with, neither can these creatures."_

Then her face turned towards me, and all I saw were bright yellow eyes that were like butterscotch, an angled, almost sinister face, and a smile that was so familiar, I could have done it the same exact way if I really wanted to be creepy. _"I want a dragon...and I am going to have one."_

And that was it. It just ended, and I was left with hearing Katara say, "...and dinner is going to be so awkward, I don't want to even think about it." I didn't even realize if she'd figured out that I wasn't brushing her hair anymore. She stood up, stretched her back, and held out a hand to me. "You coming?"

I took a deep, shuttering breath, trying to figure out what had just happened. "Uh...yeah. Definitely." I took her hand and let her pull me up, but I still couldn't get my mind off of what had happened.

_**Later...  
**_It wasn't all that awkward, if you really want to know. Zuko was pretty much standing off to the side, looking at all of us as if we were the outcasts and not him. I hadn't been all that hungry, but with girls like Toph and Katara for friends, (if you could call them that,) they wouldn't just let you sit there and not eat. They'd stuff the food down your throat, first. And the thought of Toph touching my food just made me not want to eat at all, so I quickly grabbed a small portion of rice and a little tea and started nibbling on the food.

Suddenly I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight, so I knew that Zuko was standing up behind me. I didn't dare look. His raspy voice sent a shiver enough through my body. "Listen up, everybody," he said, and I was sure that he was looking directly at me. "I've got some bad news. I've lost my stuff."

I choked on the piece of rice I'd just been eating, which no one really paid attention to. Toph was the one who had to say something, though, with a, "Don't look at me! I didn't touch your stuff."

It was silent for a moment, and to tell the truth, it was _really_ hard not to laugh about that statement. He'd said it so awkwardly that it could have meant _anything._ "I'm not talking about that. It's my Firebending. It's..._gone._"

"Huh...too bad," Katara said with a glare to the man standing behind me. "Emiko, would you like to be Aang's Firebending teacher? Zuko doesn't _have_ to be here."

Zuko clenched his hands. I noticed that the flames in our fire flickered a little, and a light flickered in my head. "Maybe your Firebending comes from rage," I said, instantly regretting it because all eyes landed on me. "Sorry, I..." I dropped my head and my face felt like it was on fire.

"No, Emiko," Aang said, looking as if he were thinking really hard. "I think you're right. Maybe Zuko's power _did_ come from anger, but now he just doesn't have enough to fuel it like he used to."

"That's like saying I've lost _my_ Firebending," I scoffed, flicking my wrist and making the fire in the middle of us flare up. Zuko's anger radiated from behind me. _So sorry, Zuko...you have no idea what you did to me last time. Losing your Firebending is scary._

"So all we need to do is make Zuko angry?" Sokka asked, suddenly stepping behind me. "Easy enough!" The Water Tribe boy started poking Zuko with the sheath of his sword and seemed to be enjoying it immensly.

"Okay, enough!" Zuko shouted, and the flames in front of me flickered again. "Look," he said, holding the bridge of his nose to calm down. "Even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"You're gonna need to learn to draw your Firebending from a different source." Toph said, her hand in her food bowl. She put her hand on her heart before taking a bite of her food. "I recommend the original source."

Sokka sat back down beside her and smiled. "How's he supposed to do that, a volcano?"

His joke got a, "No," from Toph. "Emiko obviously already has it. But Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of Firebending is."

"So is it jumping into a volcano...?" Sokka asked, a slightly saddened sound in his voice.

"I dunno," Toph said. She sat down her bowl and smiled. "For Earthbending, the original benders were Badger-Moles! One day when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind; just like me. We understood each other. I was able to learn Earthbending, not just as a Martial Art, but also as an extension of my senses. For them, the original Earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world."

"That's amazing, Toph!" Aang exclaimed. "I learned from the monks," he explained, "but the original Airbenders were the Sky-Bison." He leaned back to look behind Toph and smiled at his friend. "Maybe you could give me a lesson sometime buddy!"

Appa roared his approval, and I laughed, trying to remember. What was the original source of _Firebending?_

"That doesn't help me," Zuko growled irritatedly, running his hands through his thick black hair. "The original Firebenders were the dragons, and they're extinct."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked, and my vision was starting to go a little fuzzy. "Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid!"

"There...there aren't anymore around. But maybe there's another way..." Zuko said, walking away from behind me. I knew because I couldn't feel his warmth anymore. "The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors."

And that was when it happened _again_. Everyone around me froze, and I could see through them. If they were moving, they were moving very, very slowly. "Dammit," I cursed, moving around. Zuko, behind me, was staring down at me with love and regret in his topaz eyes. _Does he know?_ No! Of course not. Katara never would have told him, and I was pretty sure that none of the others would have told, either.

I looked around, waiting to see the girl, but I was thinking that I might have to go find her this time. I was wrong, because she came sneaking out of the main sanctuary moments later. I still couldn't see her face completely, but the image that I had seen still haunted my memory. _Who are you?_

She turned and looked directly at me, as if she could actually see me, but she shook her head and kept walking. _"Come on, Jin-Ho! Hurry up!"_ she said in a rather husky voice, waving to the rear of her, egging something on. A dark shadow fluttered past her, and she gave a muffled scream. _"Ooh, don't _do_ that!"_

A tall, lanky boy around her age stepped out of the shadows, smiling. _"It was too hard to resist." _He was tall, with thick black hair and eyes the color of green grass in Spring.

"_We're undercover, remember? We're trying to sneak out of here, not get caught!"_ The girl's eyes narrowed in a flash of pale yellow. The eyes were scarily familiar. She started moving towards a group of eel-hounds with packs surrounding them. She had a few on her back as well.

"_I don't even know why we're going on this mission. Wait. I don't know why _I_ am going on this mission. You don't need me to go with you."_ The boy was saddling up a few eel-hounds as he spoke, and they seemed to be loving the attention. The girl, on the other hand, shied away from them.

"_Eel-hounds and I have a...rocky relationship," _she said gruffly, turning around to look directly at me one more time. _"Hey..."_

"_Yeah?"_ Jin-Ho asked, not looking up.

The girl shook her head and looked away from the spot where I was standing. _"Nevermind." _Then she gave out a long sigh and ran her fingers through her hair._ "Anyways, that's why I need a dragon. Running around on eel-hounds isn't exactly my cup of tea. Now a _dragon...that_ will show Mr. Midshipman-on-my-rump who's who!_"

Jin-Ho had a knowing smile on his handsome—if boyish—face. "_Ever since that Fire Nation Admiral sent that Midshipman Shoe after you, you've been determined to outwit him. Why a dragon this time?"_

The girl had a funny look on her face. She was maybe sixteen at best, because I knew that she couldn't be any more than that. But I thought that I recognized that look. _"It's Zhao, Jin-Ho. _Z-H-A-O. _Not Shoe. And I think our chase is rather...fun. Besides, Roku had a dragon."_

_Zhao?_ I wondered, feeling a slight skip of my heart. _My...my dad?_

"_Fun as in 'I like getting chased after to be beheaded,' or fun as in, 'Hmm, this man may be attracted to me and I may be attracted to him?'"_ The boy still wouldn't look at the girl, and she didn't even seem to mind. She slowly got up onto her eel-hound and he got up very quickly.

"_Neither. It's just a fun game in the middle of boring business."_

"_Because you've always thought of being a pirate as boring."_

"_No. Just a little more...adventurous."_

When I stood up suddenly, expecting to run after the two on their eel-hounds, I saw that everyone was staring at me. _Its over_. "We've got to go!"

"Go where?" Aang asked, looking at me as if I'd grown two heads.

"To the Sun Warriors! Come on, I've got to _go_!" I shouted at the child. There was an energy building up inside of me, dying to get out and move and follow, like a predator towards her prey. "They died off thousands of years ago, but I know that their temples aren't too far away from here! I need to go _now_!"

_That was my mother!_

"Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins," Zuko suggested, staring at me intently with his topaz eyes. I felt like I was a book and he was reading everything inside of me.

"Its like the monks used to tell me," Aang said, looking forwards and away from me for once, "the shadows of the past can be felt by the present." _Oooh, yeah._

_They definitely can._

_**Zuko  
**_He wanted to do something, to hold her close, to tell her that he was sorry, but he was afraid of what she would do. She was sitting on Appa's head, her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared at the rising sun that silhouetted her. Her short, black hair had a healthy sheen to it, but it was short enough that he saw that red scar on the back of her neck again.

Looking over to see that the Avatar was asleep, Zuko stepped up behind her. He let his fingers gently land on the back of her neck, letting the callus on his thumb gently move over it. She stiffened under his touch. "Emiko..."

"I don't want to talk right now, Zuko." Her tone was soft but firm, and he knew that she meant what she said. She didn't even turn to look at him.

It hurt, just as it had that night when he'd told everyone that he couldn't fight. "I just wanted to know...what hurt you?" She stiffened and shrugged his hand off of her neck, turning to glare directly at him. Her gaze, where it used to be like a doe, was now like a hawk, and it cut straight through him. "When I saw you lying there, I thought—"

"I don't care what you thought!" she snapped, nudging him backwards. She had lost all of the baby fat on her face, and her cheekbones were more prominent, making her look like a predator. He wondered when she would stop changing "I'm fine, as you can see." Then she turned back and looked at the sunrise again.

Zuko pushed back his growing hair and sat down on the edge of the saddle, looking below them. _You'd think that this thing would fly faster, for all the trouble I went through to chase it._ Beneath the giant beast, a massive jungle loomed. It was a thick, green jungle that Zuko had never seen before, nor could he imagine the area it covered. He nudged the Avatar as an intricate city started to appear, made out of a weather-proof sandstone that towered far above the trees.

"Whoa," Aang breathed.

Suddenly Emiko froze, and then, a moment later, she asked, _"Who are you?"_ So, obviously, the second they landed...she ran.

_**Emiko  
**__He said Amaterasu...he said it!_ I raced after the way their forms went, through long corridors that seemed to be completely endless. _That Jin-Ho boy...he said her name, I know that it's my mother!_

I didn't know how, but it was her. It was all there! The light yellow eyes, the midnight dark hair, and the light, parchment-colored skin that glowed in the sunlight. There was something about the shape of her face, and her jawline, that told me who she was. Why hadn't I seen it before?

Suddenly my foot snagged something, and I fell, catching myself with both hands hard to the ground. Something in my left wrist gave way, but I knew that I couldn't stop for some minor injury. I jumped up, almost running into a large hole in the ground with spikes sticking up. "Are you _kidding_ me?" I screamed into the air.

I saw the boy, then, Jin-Ho. He looked a lot more real, this time, as he Earthbended a bridge over the chasm. I hesitantly took a step forwards, my foot alighting on the earth-bridge that he created. It actually held. _Creepy...but I'll deal with it._ I ran across right before it disappeared, and then I followed both of them. Sometimes they would show themselves as a ghost, and sometimes I could see them in full form. They would look back, as if they could sense my presence there, but they never stopped their rush to the finish line. _If only I knew what that actually was._

_Though it _is_ strange_... I thought as I ran further, my feet keeping an even pace as I followed the ghosts of my past. _That was a trap, it must have been centuries old, and it still works! People don't make traps unless they have something worth protecting._ A large, intimidating temple loomed over me. I stopped at the base of the steps

Unfortunately, I had to climb to the top of it.

By stairs.

All the way up.

At noon.

Even with all of my training, and my Firebending skills, I was out of breath three-fourths of the way up. I had to lean onto my knees once I reached the top, and I was dismayed to see that my mother and Jin-Ho were no longer up there. _Am I going crazy? Or is all of this real?_

I looked up to the statue of a Firebender standing between two rings of fire, which was being breathed out by two dragon's heads on each side. The dragons were clasping hands and their bodies were curved and bent, some partially hidden by smoke or clouds.

That was when the next premonition happened.

"_Jin-Ho, come on!" _yelled the pretty girl who ran through the caverns of the beautiful Sun City. She was tall and thin, with mischievous yellow eyes and long, thin black hair that shone beautifully in the wind. _"We don't have all day."_

Jin-Ho was a boy about the same age as the girl—fourteen or fifteen—with thick brown hair pulled into a ponytail behind his back. _"You aren't seriously going to go through with this."_

"_Of course I am! I want a dragon egg and I'm going to have one."_ She hopped along further, over a small, banner-less bridge. I started following closely behind, while Jin-Ho looked slightly nervous as he walked across the bridge, looking down into the cavern below. _"Hey! Come look at these!"_ She was looking at the same statue I'd just seen. I wanted to say something to the girl, or to the boy, for that matter, and ask them who they were. But I just floated along beside them, trying to find a way to stop the tears that choked my throat.

"_As an Earthbender, I feel slightly daunted here in the Sun City," _he said nervously, edging away from the statue with a distasteful look on his face.

"_Funny,"_ Amaterasu—it was strange to think of her that way, but I had to—said as she danced closer, _"that was much of what I felt as I entered into Ba Sing Se, but you told me to brush it off. So, brush it off, mate."_ I stepped closer, intent on inspecting this woman—or girl, as it should be—just in case I would never see them again.

Jin-Ho looked closer at the dragons, his head cocked to the side. _"Aren't the dragons and the Sun Warriors friends? Why such a hostile picture?"_

"_The dragons are intelligent creatures," _she said softly, gently running her hands over the cold marble. _"They are not only the lords of fire, but of the sky itself. They could squash us like little tiny bugs under their claws. They are thinking beasts that communicate with your mind. If a dragon's consciousness were to touch yours, you would wonder if you had gone mad...but the beauty of a creature's mind that is attuned to nature is marvelous. It's just...perfect."_

"But they're all gone," I said softly, running my hands over the beautiful artwork as well. It was chipping in some places, but I could see the perfect exoskeleton over it, as if I were looking through Amaterasu's eyes as well. "Fire Lord Sozin hunted all of them. And Iroh killed the last one."

"Who are _you_?"

**Amaterasu  
**Amaterasu drew her sword as the girl looked over, surprise in her soft yellow eyes. She was short, with hair so short it almost made her look like a boy. Her face was soft and pale, like a noble, and Amaterasu instantly hated the girl for it. She was garbed in a simple black pant that was low and tight on her hips, but flared out before it clenched to her calf. Her feet were bare, as was her midriff. Her small chest was covered in a black half-top with one strap, covered in gold accent. A thick, horrible Firebending scar covered her left shoulder.

"I asked you a question," Amaterasu said harshly, her throat catching when she saw the wonder and awe in the girl's eyes.

"Y-you're t-talking to me?" the girl asked in a voice that sounded as if it were used to leadership. Her wide lips hung open in awe.

"Who else?" Jin-Ho asked. Amma was pleased to see that his sword was drawn as well. They both kept their attention on the strange girl. _I'd thought I'd seen someone following us, but I could have sworn that I was imagining it all._

"How...where...?" the girl asked, letting out a pent up breath. She looked even paler as she studied Amma with trembling eyes.

"Where do you hail from?" Jin-Ho asked harshly, while Amma could only stare back as well. _Is that...? No, it couldn't be._ She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "She's injured," Jin-Ho said quietly as he leaned over to whisper conspiritually in her ear. Amaterasu looked at the girl's wrist, noticing that, yes, the girl was in fact injured. The skin around her hand was turning purple.

It took the girl a moment to answer. "I-I'm from the Fire Nation originally." Jin-Ho stiffened, as did Amaterasu, but the girl quickly continued. "I have no affiliation with them anymore, though." She looked like she was about to say more, but she quickly closed her mouth and blushed, looking towards the ground.

"Who _do _you have affiliation with?" While Jin-Ho was interrogating the girl, Amaterasu checked to see if she had weapons. All that Amaterasu could see was a small dagger sheathed in the girl's belt—not enough protection for a city full of powerful Sun Warriors and dragons.

The girl straightened her shoulders, trying to make herself appear taller, which seemed impossible. "I have friends from all Nations. My closest friend is a blind Earthbender, and another is a skilled Waterbender. In any instance, what does it matter?"

Jin-Ho took a step forwards, but the girl didn't back away from the rapier's point. "It matters to us! How did you get here?"

"It _doesn't_ matter," Amma growled quickly, before the girl had to answer. "We need another Firebender, anyways. As long as she doesn't stab us in the back, that's all I need to know. She is injured, mate." She held out her hand. "Give me your weapon and swear upon Agni that you won't Firebend against us. I have a feeling that you need us as much as I need you."

"How did you know I was a Firebender?" the girl asked softly, her hands clenched in front of her. Tears looked ready to fall from her eyes. She didn't bother to hand over the dagger.

_How do I always know? _Amaterasu wondered, shaking her head. Her hand never faltered in asking for the dagger. "I don't know. I just felt that you were. And I was right, obviously."

The girl slowly took the dagger off of her belt, tossing it and its case over to Amaterasu. "Yes, you were. If I may ask...what are your names?"

"I am Amaterasu, Zairesdaughter." Amma bowed, though she never took her eyes off of the girl. She held a shocked, strangely stoic look. "And this is Jin-Ho, Fongsson. And to whom do we have this honor?" She had a hunch...but she would speculate none.

"I am Emiko...Daughter of None." Once Amaterasu knew the girl's name, all of her hope was dashed. _I could have sworn that she was my mother...but no, it was a false hope. Could she be lying? ...No. Just because I've seen her in 'visions' before, doesn't mean that this is happening now. _"I don't know how I got here. My...friends were with me, hoping to find the true source of Firebending, although now that I've crossed over, I have a feeling that I've lost them."

Jin-Ho raised an eyebrow as he took a look at Amma, as if asking if the girl was sane or not. "'Crossed over'? You make this sound like an awful Ember Island Player's 'Traveling with the Spirits' show."

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

Amaterasu sheathed her sword, looking at the girl intently. "You'd be surprised what I think is real and what isn't. Try me."

**Emiko  
**It wasn't what I thought...you know, meeting my mother. She was my age, probably a little older than me at this point, and it was...strange. She didn't look anything like I remembered, and she didn't act as if she realized who I was, either. She looked harsher, with hard eyes and a shifty look, as if everything was ready to attack her. And her ignorance hurt me more than anything in the world.

She was tall and lithe, with long, thin black hair falling down her back line a waterfall. Her eyes were exactly like mine, and so was her nose and brow, while everything else seemed altered. She was tall, with a feral look in her eyes as she stood over me, lithe and dangerous. I knew that with one twitch of her thin hand she could decapitate me with her hand-and-a-half sword.

I spent a moment thinking over what I should tell her and what I shouldn't. In the end, I thought that I would tell her everything except for the fact that I was her daughter and that my companions were none other than the Avatar and the banished prince of the Fire Nation. Other than that, I told her about how their Firebending had decreased in strength with the lessening of their anger, and how they'd suggested we go to the Sun City to find the true meaning of bending. I told them of my premonitions, of how I'd finally gotten _into_ the premonition.

My mother was frowning, her eyes turned away from me. Then, her back straightened and she pierced me with those hard, foreign eyes. She didn't say anything, just started walking forwards. When I didn't move she turned and asked, "Well? Aren't you coming?"

Gripping my injured wrist, I stumbled after her quickly, almost losing my footing. Jin-Ho looked less than excited, but followed my mother through the strange wilderness of the Sun City.

**Amaterasu  
**The girl's story was less than believable. _Daughter of None? _Pah! Everyone was the daughter of someone. _Then again, not everyone has their heart on their sleeve. _This girl definitely didn't. She had eyes that spoke more than her sixteen, seventeen years and a battle-hardened face.

It was hard to look at her. She reminded Amma so much of her mother that her heart nearly broke. It was just the eyes, the shape of the face, and the lips, but it was such a close resemblance that whenever she looked over, she expected to see her mother there, strong but steady, ready to scold her as soon as give her a hug. At the moment, the girl was tearing away the excess of her shirt, (what there was, anyways,) and wrapping it tightly around her wrist to keep it from moving. To finish, she tightened it with her teeth and flexed her hand with a grimace.

Amma blinked back tears and looked away from her two companions, up onto the tip of the temple that they were climbing towards. It was simply magnificent, with Fire Nation architecture that she was used to along with some long lost secret that the Fire Nation had misplaced in time.

Jin-Ho went up to the doors and pulled on them, but he was quickly dismayed. "Locked."

The girl's small, hard eyes looked around them, seeming to see everything. Amaterasu would have been doing the same thing, but all she could do was stare at the girl. She wondered how long she'd been doing that. "Jin-Ho," Emiko said softly, beckoning him, "back up."

"Why should I?" Jin-Ho asked protectively, but he did as she said, revealing a red light that was being shined by a bright red stone. It moved across the ground.

Amma could sense the sun's movement through the stone, and she instantly became irritated. "You're kidding me!" she shouted, kicking at the light even though she knew that it would do no good. _Damn the Spirits! This is just like the Fire Temple raid!_

"What's wrong?" Emiko asked, real concern on her face. Emiko reminded Amma of a child who wanted to please an elder sibling or idol.

"Its a Celestial Calendar, just like the Fire Sages have in their temples." Her mood could not have gotten any worse. _I have to get in there! A Dragon _will_ be mine!_

"So, just bust the door down, Jin-Ho," Emiko said, shrugging her shoulders. She reached for her dagger, but then realized that Amaterasu still had it and blushed a deep red, causing her horrible burn to turn a darker shade of red.

"That won't work," Amma said irately, gripping the hilt of her sword to keep from punching the door. "It's made to where the door only opens when the light hits it. And if we break down the door, I'm never going to get a dragon; we'll scare them away."

"You mean this thing will only open on the Solstice?" Jin-Ho groaned, slapping his face in the same irritation as Amaterasu.

Emiko didn't even seem phased as she looked at them, only slightly confused. "You're here for...a _dragon_?"

"What else, besides Firebending, child? I'm almost a Master, I don't need to understand its _true source_." She didn't tell the girl that she was the Sun Spirit, and already knew the true source of Firebending.

She looked frustrated and bit her lower lip, as if trying to keep from saying anything. "But...the dragons are extinct. Fire Lord Azulon allowed their hunting, and by that way, they were all killed off—to obtain the title of Dragon."

Jin-Ho instantly flinched at the mention of the Fire Lord, but Amma zeroed her sights onto Emiko and touched her tongue to one of her back molars as she glared. "There are still plenty of dragons. The title of Dragon is obtained by very few individuals."

Emiko wrapped her arms around her body, rubbing her arms as if to create friction in the dry air. "I'm not from this time, Amaterasu. In the future...there are no more dragons, that I know of. I was just about to see if this was true before I crossed over into your story."

It took Amma a moment before she was able to speak. She couldn't even process what this...this _girl _was telling her. "I don't believe you," she said finally, unclenching her jaw from the position that it had been in. _Or maybe it's just that I don't _want_ to believe her_, she thought, sighing. "I'm done talking with you. I don't trust you and I don't want to waste anymore time."

"I knew we shouldn't have brought her, Amma, she'll just slow us down," Jin-Ho growled, stomping his foot and making the ground shake as he growled protectively. Amaterasu glared at him, making him stop.

Emiko clenched her jaw, as if trying not to say anything more. "It's just what happened. Anyways, do _you_ have a solution to open the door without alerting the...the dragons?" She said this as if they weren't real. Amaterasu couldn't imagine a world without dragons, and she definitely didn't know how to open the door. "Give me my dagger."

Jin-Ho made an outraged sound, kind of like an injured animal. "No way we're going to give you—!"

Amaterasu tossed Emiko the dagger, trying to ignore the sounds that Jin-Ho was making. "Don't hurt yourself, girl." _Do as I have thought, girl, and my suspicions will only increase._

Emiko's eyes narrowed. "I've had more experience with weapons than you would believe." Before Amma could say anything, Emiko turned around and looked up at the light. "We can't wait here until the Solstice, and I'm not _going_ to wait to get back to my reality. But we might be able to speed things up." She put the dagger to where it was underneath the light. Then, she reflected it towards the Sun Stone.

"You want to outsmart the Sun Stone?" Amma asked, amusement in her voice from thinking about this piece of scrap actually hurting something with a dagger. Then again, one could never know the past of a single person.

She aimed it, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her lip. The second the light hit the stone, it glowed a bright, brilliant red.

Jin-Ho scowled. "Nothing's happening."

"Patience, Earthbender." Emiko kept the light aimed at the door, until finally the ground shook as if Jin-Ho were doing it. "Just a little bit longer..." The doors creaked open, as if none had walked through in decades. Emiko stood up straight and tossed her dagger in the air, catching it again. "And there you go." She took the initiative and walked inside on her own.

"I don't like her, Amma," Jin-Ho said softly, taking a hold of her hand. She stiffened, but he didn't notice. "I don't like how she knows what she's doing, as if she's been her before."

Amaterasu pulled her hand out of Jin-Ho's as she had countless other times. _I don't feel that way for you, my friend._ "I told you—I feel like _I _have been here before. As she is a Firebender, perhaps she feels the same way." _Or maybe... _She shook her head and took a few tentative steps forwards, coming into a room with large, mean-looking statues of men surrounding the room. She'd never liked statues, so she grimaced and kept as close to the door as possible.

"They were so graceful," Emiko breathed, still looking at the poses of all of the marble beings. They were arranged in a circle around the room, with diagrams along each base of every statue. She looked at the first one on the right, which was standing on one foot and holding both arms out with palms up.

"Yeah," Jin-Ho mumbled, staring into one of the statues' eyes, "if you like moist, dilapidated statues that are ready to fall." Just to prove his point, he shook the ground softly with Earthbending, making the statues shake precariously.

"Jin-Ho!" Amaterasu snapped, shaking his shoulder to make him stop. She hadn't meant to snap, but with the hot, moist air that flew through the temple mixed with the shaking and scary statues, Amma was having issues. "Really!"

He shrugged, gently rolling out the muscles in his shoulders. "Just proving a point."

"These are really old techniques," Emiko said to herself, but with Amma's hearing she could hear it as if it were spoken to her. Amma looked up at the frightening statues, realizing that the girl was right. "Maybe if I..." Emiko stood on one foot, putting both of her arms out, palms up. Only when she did, her foot indented into the floor.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked down it. Then, for a moment, the girl's eyes glazed over, as if she were watching something from far away. Amaterasu turned to look at what the girl was looking at, and she saw a shimmer of something, as if it were an illusion trying to tempt her. "Emiko?"

The girl shook her head, looking back up at Amaterasu with curious eyes. "It's a...dance." She frowned with distaste.

"A _dance_?" Jin-Ho asked irately, crossing his arms over his chest. "Of all the idiotic, stupid... What kind of dance is this, if I may ask, O Daughter of None?"

"M—Amaterasu," the girl said breathlessly, "stand over there." Amma, hesitant of the glares from the statues, did slowly as she was told. "Now follow the steps of the statues. It's a complete circuit of Firebending moves."

Jin-Ho scoffed behind Amma's hesitance. "You can't seriously believe this, Amaterasu."

She didn't say a word as she followed the first move, just like Emiko, and then switched to the second. The upraised foot was pressed downwards, while one arm was brought into a fist, pushing the other out. Amaterasu understood when she saw that her foot had indented the floor.

"These aren't dance moves," Amaterasu said, standing up and punching out with the opposite hand. "These statues are teaching us a lesson."

The two women flowed seamlessly through the next few moves, Amaterasu wondering at the graceful movements of the girl, who, although short, seemed to move as well as a tall, graceful Master. She stopped watching the girl as they pushed their arms out and they spread their legs apart. They did a turn and put their arms in the same fashion. Then they moved to where their arms were out—one palm up, one down—and had one leg bent behind them.

Amaterasu couldn't help but let her body flow with the moves, to let her mind go numb as she felt the power of them. The chi in her body was building to the point of pain, but she kept it in, knowing that she would have to use that power at a later time. The muscles in her legs burned as she bended and twisted.

They punched out their fists with their front legs bent before ending with holding their arms in a U while bending their bodies towards each other. She had hoped that when they finished, a dragon, or even a dragon egg would appear. The only thing that happened was a door opening behind them.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," Jin-Ho scoffed, stretching out his back as the girls stood up, looking around for something to happen. "Hereee, dragon-dragon-dragon, hereeee..." Amaterasu hit him in the stomach to make him shut up.

Emiko was staring at the back wall where the door had opened, her eyes glazed over again. Then, suddenly, she jerked back and held a hand over her heart.

"What?" Amaterasu asked, placing her hand over the hilt of her sword. She could feel something strange wallowing in the pit of her stomach. She was very much aware of fear, of adrenaline, and of lust, but this was none of those three. "What do you see?"

Emiko shook her head, as if trying to rid something near it. "N-nothing. Let's just...go. Don't touch _anything_."

_**Emiko  
**_My heart was pounding. Zuko and Aang had just touched something that was situated in that room and had gotten trapped by something else, but all I could think about doing was going towards it, as if something were drawing me towards it. I could see the longing look in Amaterasu's eyes, as if she could feel the pull as well.

I started walking towards it, feeling drunk as I did. The room behind the doors was deep, like a cave, but the walls were smooth as butter. Beautiful, ancient calligraphy lined the walls, and, in the center of the giant room, was a pedestal. And on it, was a beautiful gem.

It was large, bigger than my head, with rings of bright rubies around its onyx perimeter. Gold decals lined the sides. And, with one more step, my mind instantly went blank. All I could feel was this...this _longing._ I felt myself moving towards the gem, not of my own accord, and a fire in my stomach moved me forwards. It felt like I was pregnant again, with a fire so hot in my belly that my child was a Firebender. _I...I want that gem..._

"Emiko?" my mother asked softly, in almost a loving tone. She reached out to stop me, but I evaded her grasp and moved forwards.

"What is that?" Jin-Ho asked almost as softly, as if speaking too loudly would disrupt everything and ruin it for all of us. "It looks like some kind of mystical gem."

"Emiko, don't touch it, then!" Amaterasu whispered feverently, but I still wouldn't listen. I reached out to touch its shiny surface and...

**oOo**

_So he did tell her all of it. _

I shrugged it off, seeing as how everyone in the royal family _but_ my youngest daughter knew of all of the Spirit business, and looked to my daughter lovingly. She was lovely, obviously, between both Zuko and I. She had darker skin than both of us from being out on the sea, with Zuko's long, shiny hair and my mischievous eyes. "As long as you're safe, Kali…that's all that I care about." Thank goodness she'd gotten my sense of goodness and not that..._other_ side.

She smiled beautifully with the wide lips that my grandmother had given her. "Thanks, Mom." Kalisto looked around the small room and stood, stretching and kneading her fists into her lower back. "Well, you should probably get some more rest."

I instantly knew that I was frowning. "I've spent most of my life _resting_. I would like to go outside." I tried to get up, but Kalisto moved to stop me.

"_Mother…_" she warned. But I took her warning as far as I could throw her. Kalisto didn't have a drop of meanness in her tall, lithe body.

But I scowled and flopped down on the bed, noticing just how tired I actually was. "Alright, then. But on one condition." She nodded, standing there with her eyes wide and expectant. I took a moment, watching her keep her yellow eyes directly on me. "Bring me the egg—err, gem."

Her eyes suddenly turned professional, no doubt from the mind washing teachers at Ba Sing Se University whom I payed _way _too much to teach my daughter_._ "I can't let you do that and you know it."

"Maybe so... But what I know for a _fact _is that my daughter is talking back to me." She flinched and bit her lower lip, worrying it with her teeth. Here were the options: listen to her mother, or to two, fire-breathing, ancient dragons? "Give me the gem, Kalisto."

Sighing, she surrendered with a slump. "Al_right_." She was always a good girl, and it showed as she exited the room. She never usually argued with me or her father unless it was something she believed in. I hated to ruin her sense of independence, but...

Soon the egg was in my grasp, seeming to slightly glow as I held it, and I felt that familiar urge to hoard it. I wanted to tuck it under my dress and run off like a child hiding a cookie. But instead, I lay down on the bed to rest once more. _Oh, to have you in my grasp again..._

A kick hit the edge of the "gem's" shell.

_It knows its master._

_Good boy._

_**Amaterasu  
**__This girl is going to get us killed!_ She reached forwards and grasped the girl's arm, jerking her away from pedestal milliseconds before she would have touched it. "What in Agni's name do you think you're _doing_?"

Emiko blinked, not bothering shrugging Amaterasu off as she looked at the onyx gem. "It...it's an _egg_!"

Amma lost her grip on the girl and looked at it hungrily. The second she'd seen it, her greedy pirate inside had wanted to steal it. But, with all the traps they'd already encountered, she knew that it was probably one as well. Now she wanted it even more. "Why would the dragons put one of their prized eggs on a pedestal for all to see?"

"Because it's a trap," Emiko said softly, hitting herself over the head. "_Damn it,_ I'm stupid."

"You had the same pull towards it as me," Amma admitted grudgingly, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Don't feel lonely."

Jin-Ho pushed forwards behind them, moving past the pedestal and examining it. Amaterasu still felt the sting of her moment of weakness, having almost let Emiko touch it and wanting it herself. "Well," Jin-Ho said, scuffing his sandal across the crude, sandstone floor, "you're either going to have to get a full-grown dragon or none at all. This bad boy is rigged to blow any second."

All she could feel was disappointment and a slight amount of anger pushed towards herself. She held her head in her hands and sat down, knowing that this was over. _I can't take on a full-grown dragon...not on my own..._

"You aren't meant to have the egg anyways, Amaterasu," Emiko said softly, bending down and placing a soft hand on the woman's shoulder. "Maybe if we keep looking... You know what, just follow me." Emiko held out her hand, expecting Amaterasu to take it. And you know what?

She did.

_**Emiko  
**_All I could see was their shadow, but I knew that I was following Aang and Zuko. Someone had captured them, but I couldn't see who it was. Amaterasu, behind me, looked as if she'd given up complete hope for a dragon. Jin-Ho, on the other hand, seemed deep in thought, as if he were trying to find a way to get one. All I wanted to do was get out of this place.

I gripped my injured wrist and tried to think of what I was going to do. First, I had to try and get my pouting mother a dragon. Then, I had to find a way out of this nightmare and back into the real world where I could figure all of this out.

Suddenly I felt the earth tremor behind me, and I looked back to see that Jin-Ho had fallen flat on his face; a vine had tripped him. A suddenly wild, vicious screaming erupted as arrows started flying through the air. I ducked, sending a wall of flames at the closest volleys, but they just kept coming! Between my mother and me, all we could do was keep them at bay—at least until Jin-Ho put up a giant rock barrier around us, completely cutting off the bullets.

"Bah, an Earthbender!" came a man's voice, and dozens of others started complaining. "Come out and fight us, Firebenders! You will never reach the dragons unless you go through us!"

"The Sun Warriors," my mother breathed, looking around the box as if trying to find a way out. "I-I'm not here to kill a dragon!" she shouted out to the men. They scoffed and started yelling louder. "I am Amaterasu, the current Sun Spirit! I wish to have a companion!"

There were no more voices outside. All I could hear was the harsh breathing of myself and my companions. Then, the first man said, "Why should we believe you, the intruders who wish to slay our dragons?"

She had to think a moment. I knew that her mind had gone blank, but I had to stop it. "You saw her Firebending—it was white. And her eyes are the color of pure sunlight. You would be a fool not to believe her."

The man grunted outside, slowly muttering to his companions. Amaterasu was looking at me like I was crazy. It might have been the lack of oxygen in the stone box, or the fact that I was having a mini-panic attack, but she looked as if she recognized who I was.

"Let down your walls, Spirit. At this temple, we honor those who are of the legendary line."

When Jin-Ho looked to Amaterasu for confirmation, she nodded, and the Earthbender let the walls down. We were completely surrounded by men in black, red, and gold clothing. Their bodies were painted in the same colors, with elaborate headdresses and hair in the male Fire Nation style.

The lead man stepped up. He had on red paint over his eyes and white paint going over the bridge of his nose and down his cheeks in spikes. His goatee was black and tied, while he wore a red and gold headdress with a mane sticking out of the back of it. He looked at us accusingly. "You were in the temple of the Sun Stone."

"It was well protected," Amaterasu said simply; I noticed that her hands were shaking by her side. "We weren't after your...Sun Stone, anyways."

The man looked each of us over in turn. When his eyes met mine, he smirked. "Ah. I see that we are greeted by another as well." I wanted to run over and put my hand on his mouth, but I just stood there and felt blush fill my cheeks. My mother looked at me curiously—Jin-Ho with fury—until the man snapped his fingers and the men around us got a little closer. "We can't let you leave just yet, O' Glorious Spirits. You must be honored...the right way."

_**Amaterasu  
**_"I don't know who that girl is...but she isn't anyone ordinary," Jin-Ho was telling her as they walked in a procession towards a very large, very intimidating center of a city. "I told you we never should have let her join us."

"We're here, aren't we?" When Jin-Ho had nothing to say to that, Amma said, "Exactly. Now shut up. If she's a Spirit, she's probably here to test me or something."

"Either that, of she's her on her own test."

"_I don't usually play this card, but I'm the Avatar."_

Amaterasu put her hand to her side, catching Jin-Ho in the chest. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"_My name is Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Or...at least I used to be. I know my people have distorted the ways of Firebending to be fueled by anger and rage. But now I want to learn the true way...the original way. When we came here, I never knew that the Sun Warrior civilization was secretly alive! I am truly humbled to be in your presence. Please...teach us."_

Emiko looked confused and looked around, then back to where Amaterasu was standing. "She knows what's going on," Amma said with gritted teeth, "and I'm going to figure this out." She moved forwards, pushing through the crowd, and stood by the girl's side. "What game are you playing?"

The girl looked smug, though slightly crestfallen. "I told you...I'm not supposed to be here."

Amaterasu had to bite her lip to keep from yelling—none of it was making sense! Someone couldn't just travel from one time to another, there were rules even the _Spirits_ wouldn't cross. "Who are you, Emiko? _Really?_"

The girl looked crestfallen as she looked over with tear-filled eyes. "I...I'm—"

"Not supposed to say," the Chief said as he towered over the both of them, putting his hand on Emiko's shoulder. He then dismissed Amaterasu as if she were a small, ignorant child.

_**Emiko  
**_"I'm not sure what you're doing here, young one," the old man said seriously, walking along beside me as if this were a leisurely stroll, "but you don't seem to be in the right place."

I was shaking as looked up at his dark, painted face. "I-I don't know what I'm doing here, either."

"Your friends are here." He gestured over to where I could clearly see Aang and Zuko standing, partially covered in some green slime. "But you are not."

"I'm supposed to be with them," I grumbled, rubbing my arms in order to create fiction. It seemed a lot colder, even though this was supposedly the "Sun City." "The Spirits are messing with my life. I want it to stop."

He nodded, placing his hands behind his back as he surveyed the people surrounding all of them. "There is a reason for everything that happens because of the Spirits...they have a reason because of something that needs to happen to the people involved. Do you need to see a Dragon? Do you need to learn the true meaning of Firebending? Or do you need to see your mother and understand that what happens here can shape your entire future?"

I couldn't say anything for a moment. We reached the area where Zuko and Aang were. I saw them, and I knew that Amaterasu saw them. She watched me from her spot near a giant hearth. The people were honoring her and asking for White Fire, which she gave unwillingly. "How did you know?" It came out as nothing more than a whisper.

"The keeper of the Dragon Fire must know many things. It just turns out that I know a few."

I nodded, watching as Zuko and Aang took some of the Eternal Flame—I'd read about it while staying in the Fire Nation Capitol—and started walking out of the temples, up towards two giant mountains. "Will my mother know who I am?"

He parted his lips, as if he were going to say something, but then he stopped. Apparently to say something else. "If you wanted her to know, you would have already told her."

"What is my part in this?"

The man looked at me with amusement in his eyes before shaking his head. "You have many questions."

I couldn't help but feel confused. "You said you knew!"

"Just a few things, 'tis all."

I swallowed through a rock in my throat, looking around at the celebration that seemed to be starting. It turned out that a Sun Spirit hadn't visited the City of the Sun for five different incarnations—had to be a record. I didn't know why a Spirit wouldn't want to visit this place. It seemed other-worldly.

"I want to see a dragon," I said softly, making the Chief stumble next to me. He looked as if he were about to protest, but I stopped him. "Look. My future, my mom's future...whatever, it's all linked together anyways. Nothing I do here will change hers, but it will affect mine. I've already seen my future. Your precious "stone" isn't a stone—it's an egg. A dragon egg, and I'm going to have it. Not now, but in the future." I took a deep breath, ignoring the shocked look on the Chief's face. "I want to see a dragon now...so I'm prepared for it in the future."

"Well, then...if you insist." He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked around at his expectant me. "Call them out!" All of the men started chanting, two of them picking Amaterasu up on their shoulders. I was also roughly handled and set upon shoulders, vice grips holding onto my legs.

"Hey!"

"Sound the call!" the Chief cried.

A fat man blew on some kind of horn, emitting 'the call'. The entire ground shook as the horn's noise radiated through the entire city. The mountains loomed closer as we approached. We were sat roughly down at the bottom of the stairs, spears prodding us in the back.

"Go," the Chief said lowly, his eyes narrowed. "Go, Spirits, and present yourselves to the dragons! Be judged! Your honor, your heritage...all of it is taken into account as the Masters judge you!"

"I thought we were seeing dragons!" I cried out, unwillingly making my way up the stairs. I could see Zuko and Aang up there, almost completely whole as they argued and lost the flames in their hands. _Whatever I'm here for, it had better happen soon!_

We made it up to the top of the stairs, onto a large platform suspended between the two large mountains. Amaterasu looked at me as if it were all my fault—which it was—but that didn't stop it from hurting. "Look what you've gotten us into," she growled, her voice cracking at the last moment. I could see that she was shaking. "There's no way I'm going to be able to fight a dragon, Emiko!"

I looked back at her, not able to believe that she seemed...scared. "But...you're Amaterasu! You can do anything!" _You...you're my mother. You're supposed to be fearless._ "You're a pirate for crying out loud!"

She pressed her back against mine, looking around to make sure that nothing would hurt her. "I'm a coward. I'm a maggot-brained, dirt-eating _coward_, alright? I thought I would just get an egg and be gone! I didn't want to actually have to fight one!"

It hurt to hear that. She was almost crying. After all of the stories I'd heard about her fighting, killing countless men in search for honor and prize money in the Royal Navy, I was met with a _coward_?

I didn't have time to actually tell her what I thought of her. It was then that a giant screech came out of the cave that I was facing away from. She started sobbing, her knees shaking.

"Stand up straight and stop crying," I snapped, wondering if she would remember this ten, twenty years from that day. "They're only going to judge us. We aren't going to fight them. Keep a level head and look them in the eye."

I turned my head to see bright, yellow eyes glaring at the both of us. Amaterasu had turned deathly pale. Slowly, a large, red dragon crawled out of the cave. He was long and slender, with four massive paws and a head larger than an ostrich-horse. A long, curling beard was under his chin.

"Emiko..." Amaterasu breathed, her hand reaching towards mine. Her hand held onto mine as, on the other side, a slightly smaller blue dragon came out. It's scales were of such a brilliant hue that I couldn't even look directly at it. It seemed more feminine, without the beard. "You still think we can take them?" Amaterasu asked in a shaking voice.

"I never said anything about that." Because no, there was no way in hell that we would be able to defeat either of them. "We are here to be judged. And we are going to be judged."

_Spirits of old and new._

"Did you hear that?" Amaterasu asked, her eyes wide and fearful. Her hand felt like it was about to break mine. "What was that?"

The blue dragon looked directly at me, and the red dragon looked at Amaterasu. _We are the Masters. We have been, and always will be, the sires of the first dragons. We created the Eternal Fire. And we created you._

"They're talking inside our minds," I breathed, trying not to panic myself. They were staring at us with trepidation, as if we would bolt at any second, or that we would attack them.

"And I'm your mother," she said sarcastically, letting go of my hand. "Really, what _is_ that?" I tried not to laugh at the irony of this situation.

_Silly Spirit...we thought the Fire Spirit demented when she proclaimed that she wanted to be mortal._ I wasn't sure, but it seemed as if the blue dragon was just talking that time. I could sense a feminine tone to her thoughts. _But who were we, the children of she and Agni, to argue with her? We created her body, and with it, created Firebending. The only drawback..._

_Being human,_ the red dragon growled, his lips pulled back to show razor sharp teeth. I knew that my mother was putting up a good front, but I could feel her body shaking against mine. _Your puny bodies are not strong enough to withstand a single flame, let alone the burdens of a Spirit inside of you._

The blue dragon shook her head and laid down on the bridge, her head lying down on her massive front claws. _My mate does not appreciate your ancestor's decision. He determines that it is too head-strong. Your true Spirit form will never revert back to it's otherworldly form. Ever._

"Mate?" Amaterasu asked, strengthening her stance. "Then that means..."

_Yes,_ the blue dragon said, cleaning the scales on her feet, _the egg was mine. One of my last. My children are dwindling, Spirits. We will not last much longer. I have seen the future, and I know this—one of your children's children will have my egg. She is strong and pure, and will teach your children well._

"One of my children...?" Amaterasu asked, her breath hitching. But I knew that the female dragon wasn't talking about my mother. "It...it is an honor. But, please, dragons, Masters, I have always believed in a dragon companion. If I could...?"

_No!_ the red dragon growled, the hackles around his head rising and creating a terrifying sight. _Your kind has done nothing but hurt our race. We are strong and proud, and we will never bow to you!_

_The egg will not go to your children's children, Spirit Amaterasu,_ the blue dragon said softly, her eyes directly set on the both of us. _It will go to Spirit Emiko's. _

"But—!"

_No more,_ the blue dragon said, standing up from her position. _It is time for Emiko to return to her own time. It has tired me to keep her here._

_I told you that she could figure this out on her own, _the red dragon growled, but the female showed him no heed. _Ready yourselves, mortals. You do not deserve to witness this._

They growled at us. Amaterasu started shaking again, making her grab my hand in fright. The dragons breathed deep, suddenly jumping up and flying around us with wingspans four times their body lengths. Then they started breathing smoke, and Amaterasu let off a small whimper.

"Are they going to—?"

We screamed and shielded our faces from the flame. But it wasn't flame...yet it was. It spiraled around us in many mesmerizing colors. I saw many things that weren't supposed to make sense, but they did. Firebending was harmony, it was life. The way a bender got their power wasn't by choice...it was by fate, and the will of the Spirits. It was the dragons who showed us everything, from love, to growth, to our very existences.

"Emiko...who are you?" Amaterasu asked softly, turning to look me in the eyes. She was smiling, tears rolling down her cheeks as she gripped my hand more.

"I'm..."

_**Amaterasu  
**__It was a calm, clear day. The sun was shining brightly into the back yard of the small, brightly-lit orchard in the back yard. She was sitting on the back deck, facing away from the small, bustling town in the front. For now, all she had the urge to do was watch...something._

_Two little girls were running between the trees, controlling their Firebending with bright bursts that made her smile—ah, to be a child again! Another child, a boy, this time, was sneaking through the grass, pretending to be a soldier sneaking up on the girls. He and the smallest of the girls had strikingly black hair, while the other girl had thick brown hair. All was worn long._

_Two sets of hands placed themselves upon her shoulders, gently massaging them. A scruffy, under-shaved face rubbed up against hers and kissed the crease behind her ear. "We make beautiful children, Amaterasu. Are you almost ready to go?"_

_The voice...that voice! She wanted to turn around, to look that man in the eyes, to see that it really was him, but all she could do was sit there and smile at the children. She felt like she was being held inside the mind of this body, banging against the walls to make it move._

"_Children," her voice said from the lips of the woman she was, "we're going out soon."_

_The littlest child looked up with wide, beautiful yellow eyes. "For my birthday?"_

"_Yes, Emiko," the woman—Amaterasu—said, getting out of her chair and bending down to look the five-year-old in the eyes. "For your birthday."_

* * *

**Please, please don't be mad at me. I'm still here, I promise! I've just had no inclination to write. In fact, I made myself write one day and I ended up popping up five pages, then seven the next day, all forced. (I'm still not happy with it, but that's what I get for forcing it out.) This turned out to be seventeen pages, so I hope the length makes up for how long I've been gone! The next chapter will be posted when it is finished—don't worry, I've got everyday to write now that I'm out of school!**

**Here's a look at the next chapter...full of twists and surprises that you really aren't expecting!**

It was dusk, that was all she knew. She'd been on her hands and knees since an hour after the sunrise, working up the pay to keep the babies safe from harm and somewhat fed. Her hands were rubbed raw from the lye soap she had to use, and if she had to scrub anymore dirty underwear, she would scream and rip them to shreds.

But it was all for them, she had to remember that. Every pair of dirty underthings washed, every square inch of floor scrubbed, every flea-ridden, maggot-infested bed roll scoured, was all for the twins.

She kept the pictures of her babies in her head as she took a ten second break to stretch out her back. They were safe, in a small, clean cell near the medical wards. The doctor had taken a small liking to the children, saying that they reminded her of her own children. Yawen, her name was, gave them extra portions of food so that she could have enough energy to keep the babies fed and still keep up her work.

_Why am I even here?_ she wondered, looking up to the bright, open sky though the grating above her. _I am no war General, or even a high-ranking member of society. I have not seen my husband since the raid on Ba Sing Se. He may be Fire Nation, but I am not. They do not even know that I am an Earthbender—and they won't, either, until I make my escape with my babies._

Naomi Ryuuswife pushed her thick black bangs out of her face again and tried to wipe the soot off of her pale cheeks. It didn't work, but she knew that soon, she would be out of this filthy prison, and she and her children could live life elsewhere.

The Fire Nation be damned.


	27. Crash and Burn

**There really need to be more hours in a day, and I really need to stop staying up until three a.m. trying to write one page. Anyways, here's seven pages, and I hope you like the Emiko/Sokka bonding!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor have I watched an episode in a while. I think I'll go do that now.**

* * *

**The Boiling Rock  
Part I  
Crash and Burn****  
**

_Where could he have gone...? _Sokka studied the map in front of him, trying to trace through the new territory that he'd never seen. "_Damn_," he mumbled, going over the trajectories again. "Where are you...?"

The room was quiet and dark except for a single flame that flickered silently beside him. Outside the long, thin window, a crescent moon gave off little light. He'd found this small study of sorts as he'd been walking through the temple, attempting to find somewhere to think in silence.

But the silence was driving him mad.

He looked away from the map and ran his hands over his face, feeling a sense of hopelessness. Not only had he had to leave his father behind, but he was probably suffering in whatever prison he was in. "If someone was taken by the Fire Nation..." he mused, running his fingers over the map, "...where would they be taken?"

He was about to stand up and forget about the whole thing, thinking that his father would be alright, that he would be able to defend himself, but then he heard a noise behind him. He stood up, instantly pulling out his sword and targeting it at whoever was about to sneak up on him.

The tip of his sword was against a surprised Emiko's throat. She held up her hands slowly and gently pushed the blade out of the way. "Whoa, Sokka. It's just me." Her usually dull yellow eyes had become bright and cheerful again as she looked at him. Then, she lost her smile and just stared at him.

"Sorry, Emiko." He laughed embarrassingly, slowly sheathing his sword as he watched her face become curious. She looked at his face, as if searching for something, and then looked behind him at the map. "I guess I'm just a little distracted at the moment."

"I can see that," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself. She was wearing her silk nightgown and robe, which didn't create much heat. "Why are you still up?"

He couldn't meet her eyes as he shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, looking around the room. "Couldn't sleep."

"Me either." She stared at the map again, trying to decipher what it was. "Are you looking for something?"

"No," he said a little too quickly, jumping in front of the desk to hide his search from her. "Nothing at all. Just some late-night attack plans, you know, strategy stuff." His voice sounded a little high-pitched, even to him. And, by her smirk, he knew that she knew that something was up.

"I _did_ live in the Fire Nation for a while, Sokka," she said softly, in that little, teasing voice that she used when she wasn't trying to pry into his soul. "What are you looking for? I can probably help." She then skirted around him and plopped down in the chair he'd occupied before she'd gotten there.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, leaning down next to her. She pulled her legs up and wrapped them around her as she sat there, studying the map with those eyes that seemed to read into everything. She smelled like a cookfire, when first setting it—not when the smoke came, but when the wood had already been dried out, and the leaves were all dried and ready to burn. He found himself taking a deep breath of the smell before he could turn and concentrate.

The map was of the full Fire Nation, which wasn't much, but he knew that hundreds of thousands of people lived there, at least one-fourth of them Firebenders. He'd marked off all the areas they'd already been, which couldn't hold prisoners. He also had out a few books on the Fire Nation, which he tried to hide, but she caught one of the books he'd missed.

"'Prisoner's of War,'" she intoned, glancing at him for a millisecond before turning her eyes back to the map and putting the book down. "Kind of heavy for some late-night reading."

He tried to shrug it off, but her eyes were like daggers, piercing through his lies—and she wasn't even looking at him! "I, uh, like to read."

He saw her wide, thin lips go up in a smirk. "Of course you do. If you're looking for a prison, you could have just asked. I was at the battle too, you know." Her face was contoured by the candle light, making her caring smile jump and widen brightly. How could he not ask for her help when she looked at him that way?

Sokka sighed and sat down, running his hands through his hair. "If someone was..._captured_...by the Fire Nation..." It was hard for him even to say. "Where would they be taken?"

Her smile waned a little, her eyes darkening. "Who was captured?"

He got flashbacks of all of the men who'd been taken from their tribe, of his father, of Bato, as they'd been taken away by the Fire Nation. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath before he could continue. "After the invasion, some of the troops were taken. I want to know where they are."

"Prisoners of war?" Emiko shook her head and shivered, making sure that her robe was tighter. He knew that it was just a nervous habit, though. "You don't want to know."

His heart sank low in his chest. "I _have_ to know, Emiko."

"It would just make it worse," she whispered, not able to meet his eyes. She tried to turn away, but he grasped her slim shoulder and turned her back to face him. The haunted look in her eyes made his throat close. "It's my dad," he said quietly, watching her face turn to horror. "He got captured too…I want to know what I put him through."

Emiko took his hand and gently held it between both of hers. They were warm and seemed to pulse out more and more heat. He almost forgot where he was because he kept wondering how someone so small could generate so much heat. "It's not good, Sokka."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _I thought as much. _"Please...I just need to know."

She shook her head and stood there for a few more minutes, as if arguing with herself about what to tell him. "He was the leader, right?" Sokka nodded, and she sighed. "He must have been taken to the highest security prison in the Fire Nation."

"Where is that?"

"My guess is…he was taken to the Boiling Rock." All he could picture was a mountain with holes in it for cells, surrounded by lava so hot that the rock itself boiled. It made his stomach churn just thinking about it. "It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's _inescapable_."

Sokka turned around and crossed his arms, not daring look at her now. His mind was already moving so fast that he couldn't make sense of it. "So where is this place?"

"Why do you need to know?" she asked him suspiciously, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at him with those big yellow eyes. "What are you planning, Sokka? I'm not going to—"

"Nothing," he told her quickly, turning back towards her with a big, cheesy smile. "Spirits, you are so _paranoid, _Emiko."

Her face was cautious as she moved over to the map, looking it over. She had a hollow look in her eyes. "It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation," she told him softly, her hand gently caressing the map_. _She pointed at a small, unmarked place in the sea. "We actually flew right past it on your way here."

"Thanks Emiko," Sokka said, patting her shoulder awkwardly. Something in him told him to hug her, just to see if she was as warm as her hands, but he knew better. "Just knowing makes me feel better." _Just knowing where to look so that I can find it myself._

"Don't try anything stupid," she said softly, her eyes staring straight through him as he tried to walk out the door. "Katara would kill me if she knew I'd told you."

"Katara knew?" he asked, whirling around to look at her wide, innocent eyes.

"No." The answer was so straightforward that he had to believe her. "But she knows that you want to find your father. And now that I know where he might be, and that you might go find him, I can't let you go alone."

"What are you suggesting?" he asked, watching her with a raised eyebrow. He could use all the help that he could get, just as long as there weren't so many people that they would be spotted.

Emiko shrugged and looked down at the map again, staring at it like she did him—as if she could see through all of it. "If you're intent on going, I'm not going to stop you. But you could need some help. I'm offering the help, if you're interested."

"Really?" He couldn't believe that she was asking to help him. He'd always thought that this task would be for him and him alone. It was refreshing to know that someone out there cared for him besides his sister and his best friend.

"We'll leave tonight."

Sokka had to admit, for a Firebender, Emiko was pretty okay.

_**At the Boiling Rock...  
**_It was dusk, that was all she knew. She'd been on her hands and knees since an hour after the sunrise, working up the pay to keep the babies safe from harm and somewhat fed. Her hands were rubbed raw from the lye soap she had to use, and if she had to scrub anymore dirty underwear, she would scream and rip them to shreds.

But it was all for them, she had to remember that. Every pair of dirty underthings washed, every square inch of floor scrubbed, every flea-ridden, maggot-infested bed roll scoured, was all for the twins.

Adena was like her father: pale, with a thick head of black hair and the yellowest eyes you had ever seen. Her face was long and thin, with ears that were almost pointed like a pixie's. That was how you could describe the babe—pixie-like.

Dmitri was named after her husband's grandfather, and rightly so. He was like a little spitfire, with thick, black hair, skin darker than his sister's, and the brightest green-brown eyes she'd ever seen. His face was much like his sister's, though a little rounder, with a strong nose and chin like his father's.

She kept the pictures of her babies in her head as she took a ten second break to stretch out her back. They were safe, in a small, clean cell near the medical wards. The doctor had taken a small liking to the children, saying that they reminded her of her own children. Yawen, her name was, gave them extra portions of food so that she could have enough energy to keep the babies fed and still keep up her work.

_Why am I even here?_ she wondered, looking up to the bright, open sky though the grating above her. _I am no war General, or even a high-ranking member of society. I have not seen my husband since the raid on Ba Sing Se. He may be Fire Nation, but I am not. They do not even know that I am an Earthbender—and they won't, either, until I make my escape with my babies._

Naomi Ryuuswife pushed her thick black bangs out of her face again and tried to wipe the soot off of her pale cheeks. It didn't work, but she knew that soon, she would be out of this filthy prison, and she and her children could live life elsewhere.

The Fire Nation be damned.

_**Zuko  
**_It was a cool, lonely night. The crickets were singing, the moon was out, and everything just seemed so peaceful. All he could think of, though, was the turmoil in his heart. He was used to having Emiko by his side, calming his racing heart and thoughts, but she wasn't there—she hadn't been there for a very, very long time.

She barely said a word to him anymore. He missed her voice, the sound of her laughter. Being around the Avatar and his friends was slowly bringing the vitality back to her, but it was a very long process. He saw a smile from her only once—it was when the Water Tribe boy, Sokka, was making a joke.

He sighed and stretched again, sitting up. _As long as you're happy...I can't say that I'm happy, too. I miss you, Emiko._ Even their arguments were better than this. He just wanted to know what he did wrong!

In his irritation, he threw, something, instantly regretting it when he heard noises. He figured he'd woken Toph and was about to hear it, but the noise instantly died down before starting back up. _Someone is sneaking through camp. Must be Momo trying to steal some extra fruit again._ He wouldn't have bothered with it, had he not seen a shadow. _That's not Momo._

Zuko stood up and followed the voices, hearing one male and one female. He hid behind a pillar near where his war balloon was and saw Sokka climbing into it before helping another person, much shorter, scrambled in afterwards.

_Emiko!_

He sneaked over to the war balloon, desperately thinking of what she could be doing, and with whom. He knew her better than to think that she was off doing...well, _that_ with someone else, but that didn't mean that he couldn't think of it happening.

There was rustling and a small curse, both of which made his face flush in anger. He ran up on the basket to find Emiko tangled up in some rope, with Sokka trying to quiet her. They were both prepared for some kind of mission. "What in Agni's name do you think you're doing?" he asked both of them, making them startle and look up at him as if he had two heads.

"Z-Zuko!" Emiko said in that beautiful voice of hers. For the first time in a long while, her eyes were bright again. "Wh-what are you talking about? We're not doing anything. Just...cleaning the war balloon."

Sokka looked at her with eyes that said she was an idiot. "Remind me never to take you on any kind of secret mission."

That piqued his interest. Well, that, and the fact that Emiko was lying horribly, which meant that she was about to leave to do something really big. Like leave in the middle of the night so that no one knew where she went. "Where are you two going?"

Emiko sighed and laid her head back on the floor, since she couldn't get untangled from the rope. "I'm helping Sokka with something. We don't need _your_ help."

"Actually," Sokka said, frowning, "we might need his help. You said yourself that you don't know the exact location. I'm betting that Zuko does."

She closed her eyes and gave off a noise that sounded angry and frustrated. That hung in the air for a moment before she looked back up again, glaring at him. "Get in the basket and be quick about it."

Normally, something said like that would have pissed him off. But to tell the truth, he was just happy that she finally acknowledged him! He would ask for civility later—any language at the moment was good.

Zuko grabbed a small bag of equipment and hopped into the basket next to her, gently helping her get out of her tangled mess. She took his help grudgingly before she pushed up off of the floor and sent a gout of flame into the black engine above them. Slowly, the large, red balloon started to fill with heat. The balloon started to rise into the air, and soon, they were off.

A few minutes later, when they were in the air, Emiko went to stand at the front of the basket, her back turned to both men. There was an awkward silence around them, and the question of why he was there gnawed at him.

"So," he saw slowly, drawing out the word as he looked at the Water Tribe warrior, "what am I here for?"

"We're going to some place called the Boiling Rock," Sokka said lowly, causing a panic to erupt in Zuko's chest. "We need your help to get there and get in.

"_What?_"

"Oh, calm down, Zuko," Emiko said softly. He turned to see that the rising sun was illuminating her face. The scene made his breath catch in his throat, as did her soft, beautiful voice. "We're going to try and find Sokka's father."

The thought of the Boiling Rock, however, kept him from daydreaming too much. "Have you even thought this out?"

"Would I be here if I hadn't?" she asked, turning around to face him completely. She'd lost a lot of weight, he could see that. All of her features were pointed and severe, like a hawk. Her short hair added to the fact that she was getting older—even her eyes seemed as if they'd seen hundreds of years. "I'm not impulsive like I used to be, Zuko. I think before I act, and...and I'm not the person you knew before."

"At least you're talking to me," he sighed, running a hand over his face. It felt as if a huge burden were being lifted off of his shoulders.

A faint blush coated her cheeks as she glared at him. "I talk to you!"

Sokka snorted, making both of them both look at him with some kind of glare. Sokka noticed that he'd intruded on something private and he held his hands up in a defensive stance. "What?" he asked innocently. "You haven't!"

"I've talked to him...a little," Emiko growled begrudgingly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Now it was Zuko's turn to snort. He glanced at her with wry eyes. "'I don't want to talk right now,' and yelling at me isn't considered 'talking.'"

"Whatever!" She threw her hands up in the air and turned around, her back to them once more.

Sokka looked between them nervously before sidling over to Zuko. He then leaned over to whisper, "I think she's done talking."

Emiko threw her hands up in the air again and growled, "Ugh, men!"

_**The Next Morning  
**_It was cold and not very sunny when I woke up. Zuko was still asleep on the other side of the basket, but Sokka was awake, his eyes searching as he looked off into the water. It was another one of those rare times when he didn't have a mask of humor covering his emotions.

I stood up and stretched, ignoring the feeling that made me want to wrap my arms around myself to keep warm. I would be fine once I woke up, but that didn't stop the goosebumps from forming along my arms. Standing next to Sokka wouldn't help either, with his Water Tribe heritage, but I needed to talk to him.

"So," I said softly, sidling up next to him with my blanket wrapped around my shoulders, "why did we bring the idiot along with us?"

I saw a smirk out of the corner of my eye, but then he lost it again. "I need all the help I can get, finding my dad."

"You miss him." It wasn't a question, and I figured that he knew that as well.

He nodded, his face emotionless as he tried to keep his sadness at bay. "Yeah. It's always been hard, being one of the only guys in the family—Koh, in the entire _Tribe_!"

I got a little confused there. "Didn't your father live with you?"

"Did yours?" he countered a little bitterly, his face contorting into a grimace.

A deep breath had to be took before I could talk to him without yelling. I pursed my lips for a few seconds before I said, "I'm just trying to help, Sokka. That hurt."

Sokka sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He then leaned down onto the railing of the basket, clasping his hands as he looked out onto the rising sun. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just..."

"I know," I said softly, wrapping the blanket tighter around me. "And, for the record, my father lived with my family part of the time, when he wasn't deployed. I think those were the hardest times. I had to live with my older brother and sister, and both of them had their own agendas. I was the youngest in a prominent Fire Nation family—my only choice was to join the military or be married off."

"Harsh," he sighed, again running his fingers through his hair. I could tell that when he was stressed, he tended to do that a lot. "I understand what you mean, though. My dad and the other men had to leave to fight against the Fire Nation. When my dad was gone, I had to try to be the leader that we didn't have. I wasn't very good at it, either."

"Sure you were," I said, elbowing him gently. "I bet you had everyone in bed early and kept every plate full. Though I don't know what you really ate down there. It was cold, and I have no clue what sane animal would live there."

I made him smile, there. But then it went away and I had a serious Sokka again. "We mostly ate fish. We caught some penguins, sometimes, and some sea-lion-turtles. You're right about the food part—I was handy with a spear. And sure, everyone went to bed early, it was too cold not to. But I wasn't ever good. When Zuko came looking for Aang...I couldn't even protect them."

"You did what you could," I said softly, wishing that I could comfort him with physical contact, but it felt like it would be wrong. "You were...young."

He frowned deeply, making lines appear on his face so that he seemed older. "It's been a long time since that happened. But I still feel that if I could protect them now, I wouldn't be able to do it."

"You've changed a lot," I agreed, glancing at his stoic face, "but I know that you could now. I'm sure you did just fine helping them then, too."

"I couldn't save them on the Day of Black Sun." he said it in a whisper, making my breath hitch in my chest as I thought about it. My chest was tight and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. My heart stopped beating as I thought of the pain, of losing my child—

Then I remembered feeling Sokka's arms around me, and feeling the cool of Katara's Waterbending. I tried to immerse myself in pictures of my new friends, and it helped me calm down. So, I said to Sokka, "You saved me."

For a moment, his face was shocked. He instantly stood up and turned away from me. He also just happened to be looking down at Zuko. "That was...different."

"No, it wasn't," I said, moving to try and stand by him. I tried to put my hand on his shoulder, but he wouldn't let me. He dodged right out of the way. "Sokka..."

"How could you let _him—_how could you—" he couldn't seem to get the words out of his mouth as he gripped his hair, struggling to control himself. "I thought you were...I dunno, more _sensible_ than that. When I met you, I didn't like you because you'd been in some kind of relationship with _him_! My worst enemy! But then I'd met you, and heard you speak your mind, and you seemed like one of us. How could you let him do that to you?"

Just hearing that speech made me want to sit down and cry. Already, the tears were forming in my eyes, and I turned away. "You wouldn't understand."

The next thing I knew, he grabbed my arm and turned me around, making me look into those blue Water Tribe eyes of his. They were framed by thick, black lashes that looked like they could blow me away. "Try me."

"I..." I wanted to tell him that I loved Zuko, but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. Besides, that was the moment that Zuko started stirring. I turned away from Sokka and went to sit in my own little corner as Zuko got up and stretched.

"Did I miss something?" he asked, scratching the back of his head and yawning.

"Nope," I muttered, making him look at me questioningly, but he dropped it when he looked over the edge of the balloon. "Oh, we're almost there, by the way." I glared at Sokka, but he just shrugged his shoulders. "Told you I could find it."

"You can always use a second opinion."

"Whatever." I sat there for a few more moments, noticing the temperature get warmer around me. I threw off the blanket and stood up, noticing that we were covered in steam from the volcano. All I could see past the smokescreen was a squatting volcano, the source of our coverup.

Sokka looked pleased by our cover. "This steam will keep us from being detected."

"It will as long as you keep your mouths shut," Zuko said sourly, glaring at the both of us. "I swear, I didn't get to sleep until midnight with you two old ladies gabbing it up."

I wanted to punch him, but I figured that a glare would suffice. You could say that I was ignoring him—at least he was being the ass I knew him to be. To get away from his Big-Headedness, I moved over to the stove and shot a little more fire into the black furnace to get us over the edge of the volcano.

That was when things went wrong.

It happened so quickly that I didn't notice what was happening. I kept shooting fire into the stove, but all I could see was thick, white steam—steam that was keeping us from staying aloft.

"The balloon's going down!" Zuko cried, cussing under his breath. "It's not working anymore!"

I knew why, but I didn't want to admit it—the air outside the balloon was just as hot as the air inside, so we weren't getting any more speed. I was irritated with myself and my fire for not being hot enough. "Hold on tight, boys," I said softly, but they heard me. Sokka grabbed a rope and tied it around all of our waists, attaching it to the furnace in the center.

None of us screamed as we skidded across the water. I gripped Sokka's arm as we sank further and further, the basket trying to burn, and by the time we crashed on land, I was gripping his arm like I used to grip my father's leg as a child before he left for war.

The three of us were tied down to the basket, so when it overturned, we weren't thrown into the stone wall where the balloon was tossed. I was still clutching Sokka, trying not to cry in fear, when Zuko stood up and pushed the basket off of us. Sokka was trying to console me, (probably because I was cutting off the circulation to his arm,) and it took a minute before I could let go.

"Geez, you've got the grip of Toph," he moaned, gently rubbing his arm.

I covered my eyes from the dizziness that threatened to topple me over as I sat up. "Don't you _ever_ let us do that again!"

"I figured that would happen," he sighed, dusting the dirt off of his clothes.

"You knew this would happen and let me think we'd be fine anyways?" I growled through my teeth, trying not to hook my fingers into claws.

"My dad might be here!" he exclaimed as he picked up the balloon and started fiddling with it. "I had to come and see!" He wouldn't look at either of us.

Zuko then glared at me, as if it were all my fault. "You said you thought this through!"

"I did!" I growled at him. At the same time, I was trying to get that damned rope off of me. "I never knew that..._that_ would happen!" I was still shaking slightly. _Note to self: never drive anything that flies _ever_ again._

Sokka finished pushing the balloon material into the basket and held another load in his hands. "Hey, I never asked you to come along in the first place, you offered!" he cried, putting the load into the basket. "And for the record, I always think things through. But lately, my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time I'm playing it by ear. So there." He finished putting the balloon into the basket and put his hands on it to push it, but pulled them away when the basket burnt him.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked when Sokka pushed the basket into the lava.

"It doesn't work anyways," he said as he watched it burn, "and we don't want anyone to find it."

"I hope you know what you're doing…" I mumbled as we all turned to look up at the giant prison.

Sokka nodded and looked up at the high walls of the prison. I knew what he hoped for, but it was a pretty high hope. "There's no turning back now."

* * *

**This chapter will be pulled apart into three or four pieces, depending on how I write it. I have so many different plans for it, I'm not sure what to do! For now, here's what I've written in the past month...it's not much, but I'm trying. I don't have a plot-bunny issue, it's the "getting off my lazy bum and actually writing it down" problem. Anyways, here's a look at the next chapter.**

I opened the door and closed it to find...___him _lying with his hands behind his head on the small bed the prison provided. When I closed the door, he sat up and clenched his hands on the side of the bed. "What do you want?" he asked angrily, bitterly, and the look in his eyes was feral. He looked the same, but with a hatred in his golden eyes that burned as brightly as my fire did.

"You...you don't know who I am?" I asked softly, feeling hurt as I clenched my hands together in front of me.

He laughed humorlessly, turning away from me in his dark maroon clothing. It was tattered, I noticed, and his long, black hair was shaggy. I wondered how long he'd been here. "You all look the same to me. I have no inclination to want to know you at all. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to spend my day in peace."

"Of all the low-down, maggot-eating...you wanted to be a soldier since you were three and got a medal given to you by General Tsing." His head whipped around, his eyes narrowing at me. "You fell in love with his daughter, but he would've challenge you to an Agni Kai if you ever touched her. Before you could, you were shipped off to raid the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom. When you came back, you had a scar on your lower hip."

"Easy knowledge from any physician in the prison," he growled in a low, feral voice. "Who in Agni's name _are _you?"

"You know who I am." I pulled off my helmet, looking at him in confusion as his glare turned into a look of astonishment. "How the Abyss did you get into the Boiling Rock, Ryuu?"


	28. The Search

**I really wanted to break 100 views with the last one. But, seeing as how it's my birthday week, I'll go ahead and post for you. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own avatar: the Last Airbender!**

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**The Boiling Rock**

**Part II**

**The Search**

"Why are we here again?"

Ty Lee's voice broke the wonderful silence of the rail car as they soared over the top of the lake of lava. Jasmine opened one eye and glanced at her before closing them again—there was no need to move until the car stopped.

"Ask Jas," Mai mumbled, probably rolling her eyes as she took a look around the drab car.

_No doubt she's thinking that it needs more black,_ Jasmine thought with a rueful sigh. Ty Lee would ask her any moment, ruining her sleep. She reached her toes as far as they would go as she stretched her back out like a cat. _So much for my nice nap._

"Jasmine," Ty Lee's obnoxious voice said as she came closer, sitting down on Jasmine's thighs, "why are we—"

"For the last time," Jasmine snapped, opening both eyes to glare at the girl covered in pink, "it's family business." _So keep your brown little nose out of it!_ Not able to sleep anymore, Jasmine sat up, discarding Ty Lee to the floor.

"Ow," she grumbled, glaring up at Jasmine with her hazel eyes. "That was mean!"

"I've also told you multiple times not to sit on me, or you'd be knocked to the floor."

Mai, on the opposite side of the car, threw her hands up in the air and stood up, glaring at them both. "Will you both just stop bickering? I swear, you're like children!"

To prove the point, Jasmine stuck her tongue out at Mai and contorted her face with her hands. Ty Lee seemed to find this amusing. Mai, on the other hand, did not.

She gave a disapproving _"ugh" _and moved to leave the car. That was about the time that Azula came in, rubbing one eye with a perfectly-manicured hand. "What are you whining about _now_, Ty Lee?" She looked like an innocent child at the moment, waking up from a nap that her mother had put her down to. But Jasmine knew that it was false. Azula was a killer, plain and simple.

The pink girl sighed and shook her head, gracefully moving from her position on the floor. "Nothing, Azula."

"Wonderful. So I was woken up from my slumber for nothing!" The glare that she sent Ty Lee was enough to even give a chill to Jasmine. "I hope that your bout of 'nothing' was important to at least someone!"

Jasmine couldn't stand it when Azula yelled at Ty Lee. Even if the circus freak _did_ get on her nerves sometimes, they were all just teenagers, not mind-slaves or wise old coots. "She was just asking me why we were here."

"Hmm, yes," Azula drawled out, dragging one fingernail down the wall of the cable car, "that is an _excellent _question, Jasmine. Why _are_ we here? I will admit that torturing prisoners of war is quite the past time, but I doubt that's what we're doing."

Just getting to convince Azula to let them come here had been difficult enough in the least. Mai's uncle ran the place, so that was easy enough to put together. But still, her three friends knew nothing of what was going to happen. "It's family business, Azula. It's hard enough to even wonder if he's here."

"Ooh, your brother?" Ty Lee asked, her eyes instantly brightening. "He's so good-looking!"

Jasmine couldn't help but scowl as she thought of her brother as being 'handsome.' "If you like looking at camel-toad rumps." But then she realized that they knew, and she groaned, putting her head into her hands.

"We're here for your _brother_?" Mai grimaced, turning her head to the side. "What in Agni's name am _I_ doing here, then?"

"Why didn't you tell us this little fact, Jasmine?" Azula asked, her topaz eyes blazing with the kind of subtle anger that always filled Jasmine with fear. "It would have been very interesting to know."

"Because I don't know if he's here." It was hard picturing Ryuu in the massive prison she saw outside the window. Her proud older brother seemed..._better_ than that. "And your uncle is the Warden here, Mai. I thought that I could use his help...only if you agree to help, too."

"If your brother is _here_," Azula drawled slowly, looking over them all with a bored expression, "that means he is a traitor to our Nation. There is no way that we can allow him to come with us."

"But Azula—" Jasmine was cut off with the meanest glare that Azula could produce. All she could do was sigh and say, "Yes, Azula. But I would still like to see him."

Her bright red lips smirked as she moved her way over to Jasmine, sitting down next to her. Azula's soft hands started petting the back of her head, moving down the length of her let-down hair. "Oh, Jasmine, don't you see? Your family will only bring you down."

"He's still my brother," she said softly, trying not to look into the Princess's seductive gaze. She needed to get out of this cramped little car, away from the intoxicating smell of the Princess and her soft hands as they petted her. "I...I have to, Princess."

When Jasmine next looked up, Azula was frowning, but nodded in the least. "Very well. If you insist."

The brunette couldn't help but let out a pent-up breath. "Thank you, Azula. You won't regret this, I swear." _Or at least, I _hope_ you won't..._

_**Emiko**_

It was no easy task getting inside. The storage rooms were off to the side we'd come in, so we managed to sneak in behind some guard's back. Once we'd made it inside, we found a way into a storage room where we found guard uniforms. The uniform was a deep maroon sack that went down to the knees. A golden belt was tied around the waist, and a black shawl trimmed with gold hung from the guard's shoulders. The collar had the Fire Nation Insignia on it while the hat went just down to the end of the ear.

The hat was the same maroon color with a gold stripe down the head. A red mask covered our eyes. I didn't deem it necessary to wear one—I looked exactly like every other Fire Nation woman out there. Sokka and Zuko, however, kept theirs on.

"We need to split up," I said softly, looking at them both with as calm a facade as I could manage. "I'll try to schmooze with the guards, ask about any war prisoners lately. You both patrol around the prison yard, see if you can see if he's already here."

Sokka nodded, his jaw set in determination, but I could tell that Zuko wasn't okay with this plan. "I don't want to leave you alone, Emiko," he said, sounding just like an old Zuko who pushed me up against a wall, seducing me to get his way. All I could remember was the hot feel of his lips on my neck, the hard fact of his want against my stomach, the—

But then I remembered that I'd won that argument. "I'm the only one who can walk around here without being easily spotted. I have to blend in and ask questions, alright?"

He looked at me with his beautiful topaz eyes and his clenched jaw and slowly nodded. I let out a pent-up breath and was grateful that he didn't try to cause a scene. "Let's go," he said to Sokka under his breath, throwing me one last look over his shoulder before both of them were gone from my sight.

"Hey, you!" came a cry, and I instantly froze in place. I'd thought that Zuko and Sokka had both been caught, but instead, it was me. A lone soldier came around and looked at me like I was crazy. She was tall—well, taller than me, at least—and had short hair like mine, but hers was brown, like her eyes. "What the Abyss are you doin' out here?" There was something about the way she talked, and the way her wide lips moved as she did, that instantly made me like her.

Unfortunately, even though I liked her, I had no clue what I was supposed to say. I ended up stuttering, "I-I, uh, was looking for an extra helmet! Lost mine. Warden said I had to pay a fee and get one out of the storage closet."

Apparently my lie was close to protocol, because she laughed. "You must be new. All of us know to _never _lose our helmets." She held out her hand and held it there. "Name's Sergeant Milenna Yarosdaughter, but everyone calls me Sarge Yaro."

I shook her pale hand cautiously, not sure what to call myself. "I'm Sergeant Wen, Tensdaughter. Call me Wen." She seemed to buy that, too.

"Well, Wen, since we're of same rank, why don't you join me in the lounge for some dinner? I'm sure that you have no clue where it is. It took me a month to remember where everything was."

"Uh...sure," I said cautiously, following her lead. She seemed like an alright kind of person, the kind that I would hang out with if there wasn't a war. Her voice was soothing and care-free, just like I remembered my mother's being as a child. And the way she held herself was the same.

"So, where're you from, Wen?" she asked casually, walking around as if she were patrolling.

I copied her walk, sure that if I didn't, I would look out of place. "I just moved back from an Earth Kingdom colony."

"Oh, yeah? I was stationed in one a few years back. I still don't think I'm used to being around Firebenders again. The earth is supposed to stay beneath my feet, ya know? We got a girl in, some noble from Ba Sing Se. I coulda sworn that she was an Earthbender with how the room shook when she first got here, but everyone assured me that it was the volcano actin' up again."

I wanted to stop right in my tracks, my jaw hanging open, but I knew that I had to hear more. "What was her name?"

"Refused to tell us. We take these nobles from big cities and use them for ransom, to keep our bills down, ya know. Then we send them on their merry way. The sooner this chick gets out of here, the better, you ask me. Her kids keep me up at night."

My stomach started churning, my heart beating faster. We were almost to the lounge because I could hear laughter. "Kids? They bring _kids_ to this place?"

She shook her head and threw a smile back at me. "Nah. She gave birth while she was here. We thought she still had a while left, but we were wrong."

That little organ called my heart stopped beating for a few seconds. _No...it couldn't be!_

Sarge Yaro disappeared around a wall when I stopped, and I believed that we'd arrived at the lounge. I poked my head around the wall, and when I did the smells came to me so fast that everyone across the world in the Water Tribe should've been able to hear my stomach as it growled.

The room was large, with long tables close to the ground. Pillows were set under it for any who were sitting at these long, black tables. A food bar was on the right, which smelled pretty damn good, and chairs were lined up all around the walls. People of all sizes and colors and both genders were sitting on pillows around those tables or standing or talking. Most of them seemed to be having a good time.

It was then that I realized...these people weren't the Fire Nation. Obviously they were _from_ the Fire Nation, but not all of them were the big picture I'd created in my head. They weren't mind slaves, or war lords, playground bullies, or machines.

They were people.

"Hey, everybody, meet Sarge Wen!" Yaro called out to the group of people. Everybody raised their hands in waves and called out, _"Hi, Sarge Wen!"_

_I feel like I'm back in grade school,_ I thought as I was pulled along to sit at what looked to be the Sergeant table. "Hi, everybody."

"Wen was just dispatched over here from the Earth Kingdom colonies," Yaro continued to explain, patting me on the back a little harder than necessary.

"How long are you here?" a man asked from across the table I was sitting down at. He was tall, with a big, bushy mustache that made me want to laugh. "How long's your deployment?"

I had to think quickly. _What's the normal timespan of deployment here? Think, think! Zhao used to work here, and both Jasmine and Ryuu had deployments here. Hmm..._ "Just a few weeks. I'm here to see in the next shipment of war prisoners, then I'm being sent back out to the front lines."

They all grimaced at my news. I threw a questioning glance to Yaro, who just shrugged. "The next shipment of war prisoners is in the next few days," she explained, taking a drink of something that smelled like _very _strong alcohol. "Means more paperwork for us."

"That's my life in a nutshell," I said, happy to have heard some good news. "Paperwork, I mean." I knew that I had to dig around some more, so I told them I'd be right back, grabbed some food, and joined my group of Sergeants. "So, can the newbie ask some questions?"

"Sure," they all said at the same time, which made me wonder if they really _weren't_ machines.

"If I were a war prisoner...where would I be?"

_**Sokka**_

He knew what kind of slim chance it would be. He also knew that if he couldn't get out of that Fire nation uniform, he would go crazy! Being surrounded by all of the Firebenders, by the prisoners, all of it hurt his head and all he wanted to do was find his father and make a run for it.

Zuko, next to him, wasn't helping either. All the Fire Nation Prince kept doing was giving him advice—_bad_ advice. All he wanted to do was help, but it was pretty bad help.

"Hey, you two!" came a familiar voice, and Zuko, next to him, finally relaxed. "Wait up, I'm supposed to join your patrol!"

Sokka turned to see Emiko running up to them, a serious expression on her face under the helmet. It was scary to see how much she looked like she belonged as a prison guard. "What have you found?" he asked, scared to know.

She smiled softly and said, "There's a shipment of prisoners due tomorrow. I couldn't get specifics, but it sounds like prisoners from the Day of Black Sun."

All he wanted to do was grab her around the waist and her so tight that she couldn't breathe! He wanted to throw her up in the air and give a _whoopie!_ cry. Instead, he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a hug that was kind of embarrassing. "Thank you, Emiko."

She awkwardly patted his back, pulling away with blush on her cheekbones. "I just asked around the lounge." She gave an embarrassed cough and refused to look at Zuko when she asked, "So what did you two find?"

"Nothing, really," Sokka told her, frowning. "We've seen a few prison yard fights, some guys getting carried away to the cooler...nothing that's worth mentioning."

"Alright," she said softly, looking around the prison yard, over a railing hundreds of yards above. "There needs to be something else, though..."

When Zuko stepped up behind her, Sokka wondered if he should intervene. But suddenly, Emiko looked so sad, so forlorn. He wanted to be the one to wrap his arms around her, but he didn't know her that way. Zuko, on the other hand, did.

"Emiko," he heard Zuko say softly as he stepped up next to her, "what's wrong?"

She gave out a desperate sigh and leaned her head onto his shoulder, making some kind of protective green monster grow inside of him. _I don't have that kind of possession over her._ "I've heard some...disturbing things around the prison."

Zuko's hand gently ran over her back and shoulders, trying to calm her down. "You can tell me, Emiko."

_Great_, Sokka thought, crossing his arms over his chest. _It's like I'm not here. _

Emiko shook her head, glancing down at another small fight going on down in the prison yard. "Just rumors. Some nobles were taken from Ba Sing Se and put in a separate wing from the other prisoners. They are going to be used as...as leverage for ransom money."

"What does that have to do with us?" Sokka asked, looking at the two of them with what he hoped didn't look like disgust.

She then looked so sad, though, that he instantly felt bad for feeling anything that he just had. Her pretty yellow eyes were downcast with tears. "My brother and his pregnant wife were in Ba Sing Se. They might be here."

"Emiko—"

"Zuko—"

"Go ahead," he said as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

Sokka was surprised when Emiko hugged Zuko with all her might around his waist. He was surprised, but hugged her back. "He's here…but where's Naomi? She was almost nine months pregnant when we were there…and then Azula…the takeover…"

He had to turn away from the romantic scene before he did something stupid. "Naomi is like you: she's strong and can take care of herself," he heard Zuko say softly. "Besides, she isn't Fire Nation and she wouldn't be here. They wouldn't allow a pregnant woman inside these walls anyways."

"But I heard—"

"I know...I know."

**Emiko**

I opened the door and closed it to find...him lying with his hands behind his head on the small bed the prison provided. When I closed the door, he sat up and clenched his hands on the side of the bed. "What do you want?" he asked angrily, bitterly, and the look in his eyes was feral. He looked the same, but with a hatred in his golden eyes that burned as brightly as my fire did.

"You...you don't know who I am?" I asked softly, feeling hurt as I clenched my hands together in front of me.

He laughed humorlessly, turning away from me in his dark maroon clothing. It was tattered, I noticed, and his long, black hair was shaggy. I wondered how long he'd been here. "You all look the same to me. I have no inclination to want to know you at all. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to spend my day in peace."

"Of all the low-down, maggot-eating...you wanted to be a soldier since you were three and got a medal given to you by General Tsing." His head whipped around, his eyes narrowing at me. "You fell in love with his daughter, but he would've challenge you to an Agni Kai if you ever touched her. Before you could, you were shipped off to raid the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom. When you came back, you had a scar on your lower hip."

"Easy knowledge from any physician in the prison," he growled in a low, feral voice. "Who in Agni's name are you?"

"You know who I am." I pulled off my helmet, looking at him in confusion as his glare turned into a look of astonishment. "How the Abyss did you get into the Boiling Rock, Ryuu?"

His eyes widened in recognition. "Emiko!" In two strides, he moved across the room to hug me. "It's you!" His hug was warm and brotherly, and I hugged him back, trying to keep the tears from my eyes. "Oh Spirits, I'm sorry. I didn't think…"

I felt like breaking down and crying, but I knew that I didn't have very much time. Sokka was keeping guard outside. "Naomi," I said softly, grasping his shoulders and pushing him back a little, "is she here?"

"No," he said quietly, his jaw clenched, his hands tightening against my waist. "She's nine months pregnant and they won't tell me where she is!"

"We'll find out soon enough. I'm getting you out of here."

Ryuu pulled me back into his hug and stroked my hair. I thought that it was the most comforting thing in the world. "I'm so glad to see you're alright, Emiko." I wanted to stand there forever in his warm arms, remembering old times, but then something outside froze my entire body.

"Out of my way, Private," her gruff voice said from outside, making Ryuu curse under his breath. "I need to get into that cell."

"No, you can't go in there!" Sokka shouted, and I could only imagine what his face looked like as he lied to her. "The…lights are out." _Damn it, Sokka, what kind of excuse is that? _ "The…prisoner could sneak up on you!"

Apparently the owner of the familiar voice didn't buy it. "Out of my way!"

Before I had time to react, the door was burst open. The light blinded me to where I couldn't see. Ryuu pushed me out of the way, but I knew that it was too late.

Jasmine was standing in the light of the doorway.

* * *

**Dunnn! :0**

**Baha! Anyways, reviews? (:**

"She's here. And so are the twins."

His look was so confused that I couldn't help but bite my lip. "_Twins?_"

I nodded, taking a deep breath, trying not to show him that I was so, so scared for him, for his wife, and for my brand new niece and nephew. "Ryuu, Naomi is here. You're the father of a beautiful baby boy and girl."


	29. Sibling Rivalry

**Lots of pages! And Dragon Age is amazing. I don't own it, just like I don't own Avatar!**

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**The Boiling Rock**

**Part III**

**Sibling Rivalry**

**Namoi**  
There was a woman with her babies. _Her _babies_._ She was of medium height and build, her long brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She was obviously Fire Nation, by the looks of her, and she was staring down at the children with some kind of light in her bright hazel eyes.

_If she harms either of my children..._ Naomi thought, gripping her mop bucket tighter in her hands. But the woman just stood there over the crib, staring down with wonder. She gently reached her hand in, letting one of them—Adena?—grasp her pinky finger. And then, the woman simply...

Smiled.

**Emiko**  
The cooler was hell on Earth. I was crouched on the ground with my hands in my armpits for warmth. I tried crouching down to hold in my own body heat. I kept rolling up onto the balls of my feet. Nothing helped. I couldn't sit on the floor, because it was freezing, and I couldn't lean against the wall for the same reason. I wanted to faint, but I wouldn't give the devil guards outside the pleasure.

I'd been stuck in there ever since Jasmine had entered Ryuu's room. We'd only had one short conversation before she'd come in. _"She's here. And so are the twins."_

_His look was so confused that I couldn't help but bite my lip. "Twins?"_

_I nodded, taking a deep breath, trying not to show him that I was so, so scared for him, for his wife, and for my brand new niece and nephew. "Ryuu, Naomi is here. You're the father of a beautiful baby boy and girl."_

There'd been a small fight as he'd tried to protect me, but, in the end, Jasmine had been able to take me. Ryuu, I knew, was in the cooler next to me. We couldn't communicate, but I knew that Jasmine had talked to him first. I knew that I was next.

"_Emiko_!" came a whisper through the door. I acknowledged by nudging my forehead against the glass, creating a small peep-hole through the frost that Sokka could see through. He looked relieved when he saw me. "Are you alright?"

I wanted to shake my head, but I knew that would only worry him. I nodded and tried to keep my teeth from clashing together as they chattered.

"Good. Listen—my dad's here." I wanted to ask, _what, how, when?_ but I couldn't even conjure enough energy to open my frost-covered lips. The slight tilt of my head urged him on. "I just got done talking to him. We came up with an escape plan together, but it's going to need a big distraction. I'm going to get you out of here. You'll be in the yard in one hour, but be careful with the guards sent to get you."

I tried to nod my head, but it felt as if I were a rusted joint. Everything was so stiff and cold, I didn't know where my feet started and my head finished. I didn't know how long I stayed in there, waiting for the guards that Sokka had promised. I might have blacked out for a moment.

_Koh wouldn't be so generous,_ I thought cynically.

When the cooler door opened, I never knew that I could be happier. Maybe I shouldn't have let the large hands grab me out roughly, but the warmth was so welcoming, I'd almost thrown myself into their arms anyways.

I was being dragged down a hallway, but I couldn't open my eyes to look where I was being taken. I really didn't care, as long as I wasn't thrown in that thrice-damned cooler again!

I finally opened my eyes when a smaller set of hands grabbed and threw me across the room. I barely caught myself before I fell face-down onto the floor. It wasn't very graceful, but I kept myself from knocking my teeth out.

The room was small, with metal walls surrounding me. All I saw was a chair, with metal chains around the front two feet and around the armrests. The only light came from a small flame on the ceiling and from the doorway, but the latter was depleted when the door was shut with a resounding _CLANG._

I looked up, my bangs falling in my face, and saw the furious face of my sister by the door. She'd gotten thinner, lankier, much like I had, and her hair had grown far past her shoulders. It was slightly ragged, as if it'd been burned and cut wrong multiple times. Even her clothes seemed worn, and they hung on her smaller frame.

When she looked at me, I saw that her eyes had gone slightly hollow, and the circles under her eyes were darker than ever before against her pale skin. Her eyes seemed worried, scared, and..._tired._

"Jasmine?" I asked softly, staring at her with wide eyes. Before she'd fought Ryuu and me back in his cell, the last time I'd seen her had been right before I'd sent her and her squadron to the North Pole. I was sure that she wasn't to happy with me.

And I was right. Especially when she let out a cry so furious that the force of her Firebending heated up the room like an oven. My bending was still weak from the cooler, so all I could do was feebly roll out of the way as her blast hit the spot where I'd just been. I wouldn't have been surprised if my eyebrows had been burned off.

"Jas!" I cried out, still weak from the cooler. She didn't hear me, her screams covering the room. I dodged her last few attempts until I could stand up and grasp her wrists, stopping her in her place. "Jas..."

Her face was scrunched up, as if she refused to cry. But she did—my older sister broke down and cried, stuffing her face into my new prison shirt and crying her eyes out. I didn't know where to put my hands; _she, _on the other hand, gripped the back of my shirt and pulled me closer. My older sister wasn't the one to cry, _ever_. She considered it weak and pointless, like our father had seen it.

I finally wrapped my arms around her and laid my head against hers. I started rocking her slowly, humming an old lullaby that our mother had sung before bed every night. I remembered that, when I was young, Jas and I had shared a room together. We'd always argued over it. She demanded that because she was two years older, she deserved her own room. In the end, though, she'd never protested when I'd had a bad dream and I wanted to sleep with my older sister.

Her sobs turned silent as I finished the lullaby. I'd never seen my sister so torn-up—had Ryuu said something? She'd always looked up to Ryuu. "Jas, what's wrong?" I asked softly, feeling her tense up beneath me.

Jasmine suddenly pushed me away, wiping her eyes with her sleeves indignantly. "N-nothing that _you_ need to worry about."

"Is Ryuu alright?" I asked, wanting to reach out and hold her. I knew that I couldn't, though—that mask was back on her face, and the fury in her eyes was so bright, it almost overtook the fright and bone-tiredness.

"This isn't about Ryuu!" Jasmine snapped, her eyes still red-rimmed from crying. She sniffed away one last stubborn tear. "I thought I knew you, Emiko. I thought you'd come back..." For the first time in my life, I heard something along the lines of vulnerability in my sister's voice.

"Jas..."

Her eyes instantly went hard again. "The truth is," she said, holding out a piece of paper, "I guess I _don't _know you. I knew all along that there was something going on between you and that banished wanna-be, but this puts the frosting on the cake. _Dear Emiko, I'm sorry that you have to find out this way, but I'm leaving_."

"Stop!" I yelled at her, snatching away the paper. She held it above my head, where she knew I couldn't get it. "This isn't any of your business."

"You're here, aren't you?" she snapped, instantly making me shut my mouth instantly. "Exactly. It's my business _now_. Not only did I find Ryuu here, after I thought that he was dead all this time, but I figured out that he'd run away from the military. Now I find you here, too! I was almost hoping that you had died during the Day of Black Sun." She took a deep breath and turned away from me, leaning against the wall for support. "It was too much to hope, apparently."

"Why, because it would be easier if I were just out of your life?" I asked in a snappish tone. I'd been hoping for anger, because I could deal with that. Instead, I saw pain when she turned around to speak to me.

"It would have been easier for you, for me...for everyone, Emiko. When I heard that you'd died in the North Pole with Father...my heart's already been broken once. Then, at the Day of Black Sun..." She gave off a small, humorless laugh, and she still wasn't looking at me.

"_Jas_?"

"It's hard, Emiko. Ryuu will be sentenced to death—_death_. And you know that he had a family in Ba Sing Se? His wife is here somewhere, one of the girls being used as hostages to the richer lords. And his...his _babies._" She said the last part with such longing...I didn't even know what to say. "And _you._ You'll play a big part in the final battle...if you're on our side. Until this war is over, I can't get you out of here. Unless you fight for us."

I was speechless for a moment. _Jasmine mourned for me? And she wants to help me get out?_ So many thoughts moved through my mind, I couldn't keep track of them. All I knew was that I couldn't tell her about being here with Zuko and Sokka—Zuko was once again a fugitive, and if she knew that I was here with one of the Avatar's companions, I'd never see this side of my sister again."I can't stay here, Jas. I can't help you."

"Can't?" she asked, finally turning to look at me with pain in her familiar topaz eyes, "or won't?"

**Naomi  
**It was almost time. Everything was in order. She knew the entire prison from top to bottom, knew how to get her children out, and was determined to use her Earthbending to her full extent once and for all.

She was out in the courtyard with the other female prisoners. Guards lined the walls around them, watching with hawk eyes. She felt all of them on her back as she surveyed the ground, trying to find specific fissures that she could use to her advantage. There was one right underneath her children—she'd have to be careful when she made her way towards them.

She watched carefully as two soldiers came her way. She sat as still as stone on the rock she was perched on, listening to their voices through the vibrations in the earth as they came closer.

The taller one said, _"Where is she? We need to start the distraction now!"_

"_I'm the one who's grabbing the Warden. We can wait just a little longer before we start."_ This one sounded slightly familiar. The voice was deep and throaty, a little angry than she remembered it. She couldn't place where she'd felt those vibrations before. _"We aren't leaving without Emiko."_

And that was when it clicked in Naomi's mind.

**Emiko  
**"Both."

Jasmine was silent for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. "You can't because you're a _coward_!"**  
**

"And I won't because I have more morals than you ever will!" I shouted back at her. The last thing I wanted to do was get in a shout match with her. I needed to get out to the courtyard with Sokka, to rescue his father. "What the Fire Nation is doing is _wrong!_ I'm going to save this cesspool before it hurts anyone else!"

She flinched at that, refusing to let me win this. "Save it? You're _betraying_ your country! I'm offering you redemption, Emiko. Azula isn't going to keep giving it out like party favors!"

I was so sick of hearing that name. "Azula this, Azula that! It's like you're her little _pet_! I'm so tired of hearing that excuse, of hearing how she uses you like a puppet." I was afraid, with the dark look that came over her face that she'd do something drastic, but she didn't. And I couldn't stop my roll now. "She's a vile, evil little bitch who's brainwashed you! Why don't you see that she's—"

"I know," she whispered softly, stopping my tirade.

"_What?_"

"I know, damn it! She's got us all wrapped around her little finger, and we can't get away because we're _scared_. As a kid, she was cruel, but you have no idea how it is now, Emiko!"

"Then why are you trying to kill _me_?" I asked, exasperated. I was so tired of arguing with her. We'd done it as children, as teenagers, but we were almost adults. Why did we rub each other so wrong? I sad down on the floor, rubbing my face as I did so.

"I'm not trying to kill you," she sighed, slumping down onto the floor across from me.

"You came pretty damn close."

Her face, so familiar and yet so foreign, was finally only tired. She wasn't scared anymore, or angry. She just looked extremely, awfully tired. "I was...angry."

"At me? Or at yourself?"

**Naomi**  
The guards stared at her openly, their mouths below the masks hanging open. "You're..._who are you now?_" the one who wasn't Zuko asked.

"I know it's you, Zuko," she sighed, following them back into their little alcove. "Just drop the act. I overheard your plans, and I want to help. I'm going to get out of here with my children."

"Kids?" Zuko asked, openly staring at her stomach.

She nodded tersely. "Twins."

"Your kids are _here_?" He finally pulled off his helmet, showing that his hair had grown much longer since she'd seen him. He'd lost weight, but put on muscle. And his eyes held much more knowledge than the last time.

Naomi nodded seriously, looking at his other two companions. They were obviously related, and Water Tribe to boot, with bright blue eyes and dark, tanned skin. The one dressed as a guard was Zuko's age, while the other was old enough to be her father. "Naomi Ryuuswife," she told them with a nod of recognition.

"Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe," he said, surprising her when she didn't think it could happen again in that dingy prison. "You know Zuko from where, exactly?"

She wasn't the kind to answer questions—usually, she answered them in long lectures at the University of Ba Sing Se. She had to remember that she wasn't there anymore, and that it was overrun by Fire Nation. "When Zuko lived in Ba Sing Se, he was dating my sister-in-law."

"Emiko's brother is married?" the younger Water Tribe boy asked the Prince, looking entirely out of the loop. "Does she have any other siblings here that I should know about?"

"Jasmine is here," Naomi conceded, wishing that the formalities would get out of the way. Finally she just said, "Look, I want to get out of here with the twins as soon as possible. Where is Emiko?"

"She was put in the cooler," Zuko said, cursing under his breath. "But Jasmine got to her before we could get her out. You know that they're here. But do you know that Ryuu's here?"

This was a touchy subject for her. If the three of them saw her tense and clench her jaw, they didn't show it. "My husband is here?" Zuko nodded, making her lean against the pillar they were hiding behind. It felt as if all the starch she'd been keeping inside was slowly being let out of her. "How can we get all of us out?" _My plan...it's just so much more complicated!_ "Then we'll need to get him, first. Do you know where his cell is?"

"Block C," the Water Tribe boy said softly, nodding his dark head of hair. She would later learn that his name was Sokka.

"Naomi," Zuko said softly, putting a warm palm on her shoulder. She stiffened at the warm touch, which made him pull away. "I'm sorry. But I remember something."

"_What?"_ she snapped, lack of sleep and excess of menial labor making her skittish and on-edge.

"Aren't you an Earthbender?"

**Emiko**  
"Both."

"You're mad at yourself because you don't have the strength to deal with Azula. You're scared and you don't know what to do!" I shouted, wishing that she'd see what all of this was doing. Her face had fallen, her skin pale and dull, her hair tangled and matted. She looked simply awful.

"And I'm mad at you because I should despise you. You've made me believe that you were dead twice, and my heart can't take it anymore, Emiko, it can't." She looked up at me, her eyes rimmed in red, both of them bloodshot. "Why did you send my squadron on that mission, Emiko?"

I wanted to tell her that it was because I needed to get some of the strongest soldiers out of the Capital so that the Avatar could attack, but that was only part of it. I'd gotten her out of there because I'd been worried for her. "I...I didn't want you to get hurt."

She snorted in a dry humor, leaning her head back against he metal wall. She was sitting with her legs bent, her arms on top of them, her hands clasped. "You're weak."

"I'm weak because I care about those I love?" I asked, staring at her incredulously, my eyes narrowed. "I'm weak because I want to keep you, Ryuu, my friends, _safe_?"

She sighed and wouldn't look at me, closing her eyes, her head still leaning against the wall. "That's what I would have said when I was still under Azula's control. Now, I would say...thank you. I'm pissed that you did that, but thank you."

We looked at each other, topaz meeting yellow, and we suddenly started laughing. It was slightly hysterical, but we were past that. We were sore, tired, and half out of our minds—it just felt good to _laugh_. I thought that I felt a tremor underneath us, but I could hardly tell if it was me or the earth.

Our sisterly moment, ending in a small smile, was interrupted when the door—presumably locked, with a key that only certain soldiers had—flew open, almost knocking into me. "Lieutenant, there's a riot outside!"

We looked at each other, an understanding flashing between us. Obviously, she knew that I wasn't here alone. She knew that I wasn't just here because I'd been arrested. She nodded slowly to me before she looked up at the guard. "I'll take care of it. If you'll just come in here for a moment, to take care of this prisoner..."

The guard came in, as if nothing were amiss, and was on the floor, unconscious, before I understood what was happening. Jasmine looked back at me with a seriousness in her eyes and nodded once, slowly, before turning and walking out...

The door wide open.

I found the rest of my group standing behind a wall, away from the riot. I was so relieved to see Sokka's father standing there, his hair long and tangled, his face ten years older, but it was him. Standing next to him was Sokka and Zuko, their heads bowed in conversation with another man, who looked remarkably like my brother. And then, standing next to them, was a woman who I knew wasn't supposed to be here.

She was still tall and beautiful, but her stomach was tight now, instead of the bulge that it had been. Her long, beautiful black hair was to her shoulders now, with less of a sheen. She was paler than I remembered her being, but still tall, beautiful, and deadly.

"Naomi," I whispered, staring at her in awe. She didn't look at me as if I were important. I knew that I looked different, but she shouldn't have stiffened as if I were an intruder when I walked up. She positioned herself in an Earthbender stance, ready to strike me down, when Sokka stopped her with a hand on her arm.

Sokka motioned me over, grasping my shoulders when I made it to him. His blue eyes looked at me pointedly, as if trying to tell if I'd been hurt. Slowly, he brought his hand up to my face and brushed it against my forehead. "Why is your eyebrow singed? I thought you wen to the _cooler_!"

I had to laugh at that—all of the events that had happened, from my sister, to seeing my brother and his wife, to knowing that his children were here, in the prison, made me slightly delusional. I pushed his hands away and smiled up at him, happy to see that familiar gaze of blue. "Crazy Firebenders."

"That does explain it," he mused, smiling back down at me. Out of everything that had happened, though, I knew that any talk with Sokka would bring me back down. He listened, and replied, and made me feel understood.

The moment was broken when Ryuu's solemn face appeared by Sokka's. "Did Jasmine hurt you?"

Technically, she _was_ the one who singed my eyebrows half off, but I shook my head. "We just...talked."

His face darkened and he pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and burying his face in my hair. In a way, it reminded me of Jasmine. But this was much...warmer. "She talked to me. Told me how beautiful my babies were."

"Did she throw a fit and Firebend at you, too?"

I felt him smirk against my head. "No. I guess you're just special."

"Good we're all here," Hakoda announced in that deep voice of his. "Now all we need to do is grab the Warden and get to the gondolas." He pointed to the Warden, who was up a few stories angrily watching the riot. I'd been purposefully ignoring it for the past few moments, but now I looked at it. Inmates were bending against each other, all with fire, as the earth around them started collapsing. The guards who tried to fix everything started falling into a fissure that was opening up around them.

I looked behind me to see that Naomi was causing this. Her hands were out, flat, beside her as she concentrated on keeping anyone away, and keeping the chaos in her check.

"And how do we do that?" I asked incredulously, staring up at him, at least five stories above us. There were handholds everywhere, creating a small climb that would be difficult, but not impossible, to do.

Sokka looked to the Warden, so high up, perplexed. "I'm…not really sure."

Zuko growled and looked at the Water Tribe boy, as if he would tear the boy's throat out any moment. "I thought you thought this through!"

Sokka threw his arms in the air. "I thought you told me it was okay _not _to think everything through!"

"Maybe not everything," Ryuu growled, "but this is kind of important!" He ended up slouched down with his hand on his forehead.

I looked back at Naomi, who seemed determined to keep her concentration. But I had to ask her if she would help. I put my hand on her shoulder, which she didn't seem to like at the moment, her back stiffening. "Where are the twins?"

Her eyes shifted to the fourth floor, giving it away before a mask could come over her face. "They're my children. _I_ will save them."

"Get me up to the fourth floor. I'll grab the Warden, you grab my niece and nephew." The idea flashed through her mind again as I heard the men arguing behind us as she made up her mind.

Suddenly I felt the ground moving beneath me as she gritted her teeth, suddenly moving us, and the earth beneath us, forwards at a fast pace. We were at the wall before I could comprehend what was happening, and then we were traveling up. Rock covered any guard that was in front of our tower.

Naomi stopped the tower a few yards from the Warden, and a story downwards. "You're on your own, Emiko," she said softly, a fire in her green eyes that told of her determination. "Get us out of here."

I pulled myself up onto a platform near where we'd stopped, my arms burning. It used to be nothing for me, but I had let my muscles go weak and they screamed at me.

When a soldier tried to attack me with a fire blast, I did a round kick on the floor that knocked him off balance, and a punch hit him over the railing. Three more guards came around the corner. One ran up and kicked fire, but I ducked under him and pulled his legs out so he fell. The next one I kicked over the railing. Guard number three tried to shoot fire at me, but I jumped on the railing, climbed up the wall under the Warden, and jumped onto the next platform.

I slid under the guard that was there, tripping him up and throwing him over the railing. Then I ran up to the Warden who tried to punch me; I grabbed his arm and pulled it behind his back, my fire in his face forcing him to stop.

"You wouldn't dare," the Warden threatened, his yellow eyes filled with fury.

I grabbed his other outstretched arm and flung it behind him along with his other arm. Then I grabbed his belt and tied his hands behind his back. I then pulled down his headband and used it to gag him. He started struggling as I pushed him to the floor. I knew that I wouldn't be able to carry him or keep him tied up for too long. Which made me happy when the boys all came up behind me and helped restrain him.

"What in Koh's name do you think you were _doing_?" Ryuu asked, grabbing my arm and pulling me up roughly. "We had a plan!"

"No we didn't," Sokka said, looking at his hand with a frown on his face. I felt a blush fill my face as I shoved Ryuu's hand away from me.

He ignored the Water Tribe boy and looked around. "Where's Naomi?"

The rumbling of the earth answered his question. She burst out of the concrete walls, her hair flying out behind her. A wrap was around her, cradling two small items—the children. Ryuu caught his wife as she ended her bending, holding her close. I knew that he wanted to stop and admire his children, but we had to go. Guards were already starting to recover.

We ran up flights of stairs towards the gondolas, where apparently we were supposed to leave. With the Warden as hostage, we were going to ride across, then leave the Warden there. Sokka and I were in the lead, followed by Ryuu, carrying the Warden, Zuko, Naomi and the babies, and finally Hakoda.

"We're almost there!" Ryuu yelled, grunting with his load.

We got up to the edge of the loading dock when two guards noticed us. They jumped forward and shot two gouts of fire at us, but Ryuu and Zuko shoved me aside, jumped in front of me, and blocked it.

There were about seven guards that lined up in formation to shoot at us, but Zuko yelled, "Back off! We've got the Warden." The Warden looked up and grunted, making the soldiers stand down and move aside.

"Let's go," Ryuu commanded, moving forward. We moved through the line of solders, all prepared if there was going to be a fight. Everyone except for Zuko ran forward, and he stayed back to attack anyone who came near.

Naomi opened the door and waved us all through. "Get in!"

Once everyone was on, Zuko ran forwards, grabbed the lever that made the gondolas go, and pushed it. The gondola squealed and pulled away, but Zuko didn't move. Instead he backed up and kicked the handle three times before it broke in two.

He quickly ran across the loading dock and jumped over the edge to reach the gondola, while behind him fire blasts rang out. I reached out my hand and grabbed him, Sokka next to me, and together we pulled him up onto the gondola.

"What are you _doing_?" Sokka asked like he was crazy. Which at that moment I pretty much thought he was.

Zuko took a deep breath and then held himself up like the aristocrat he was. "I'm making it so they can't stop us."

"Oh," I said softly, standing up straight. My heart was still beating fast, too fast for my taste. "Well, don't do it again!"

"It _was_ a good idea, Emiko," Sokka pointed out, but I just ignored him, refusing to admit that it had been a good idea. We were almost home free, and him falling to his death into hot, boiling lava hadn't been on the agenda. Sokka moved over with me to one of the seats on the side, sitting next to me as my heart calmed.

"Your brother looks happy," he said, as if to make conversation. But I knew that it was to help me relax, because I was still hyped up from the fight, from the running, from...Zuko almost falling to his death.

I nodded and looked at the end of the gondola, to see that Ryuu was cradling a small bundle with a patch of thick black hair sticking out the top. He looked so confused, and proud, and..._scared_. My brother was scared of being a father! "He looks absolutely _petrified._"

"Well, that too."

There was a moment of silence as we all relaxed, a quiet relief filling the air around us. _We're out of that hell hole. We can leave. We can go back...to running again. _That last part didn't sound all that amazing, to tell the truth. But anything was better than the Boiling Rock.

"Wait," Hakoda suddenly said, breaking the relief, "Who's that?"

_I knew that it couldn't last. _I sighed and looked out the window and saw Azula, being bowed to by guards. Behind her stood Ty Lee, whom I'd never fought, and Mai. I was less than enthused to see _any of them. _"_That_," I whispered, my eyes narrowing, "is a problem." _Is that why Jasmine was here? Where _is_ she?_

Zuko ran up and cussed under his breath. "That's my sister and her friends. Minus one."

Azula glared at us before turning and grabbing a pair of handcuffs from a guard. Ty Lee did a summersault in mid-air and then landed on one of the lines. Then she ran up it at a frightening pace. Azula used her Firebending to propel her upwards so she could reach the lines. Then she attached the cuffs and kept propelling herself upwards. Mai did the same as Ty Lee, just less acrobatically.

"Are those the girls who took over Ba Sing Se?" Naomi asked, her eyes set in a murdering slit. She had made cradles of rock for the twins, who were peacefully sleeping, their father watching over them. When I nodded, she looked to the top of the gondola and looked as if she made a decision. "Then I've been waiting for this for a while."

"You can't bend on here, Naomi," I said simply, not wanting her to be hurt.

She smirked at me, grasping the outside of the gondola in preparation to pull herself up. "I may have been born a noblewoman, but I can fend for myself." Ryuu cursed, and then she was gone, on top of the roof. Sokka and Zuko followed suit.

I was about to join them, but Ryuu grabbed my arm and shook his head. Instead, he started to climb up. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down into the car. "I don't want to lose you again," I admitted with tears in my eyes. "Please…just let me do this. I've dealt with them before, and you haven't. Just…_please, _I'll even bring Naomi back down."

Ryuu pulled me into a hug and stroked my hair. "You don't have to worry about me, Emm...the only person who needs to be protected is you."

I heard the fighting start up top. Fire against fire. Fist against fist. Apparently it was Azula vs. Zuko, Sokka vs. Mai, and Naomi vs. Ty Lee. Then a second later, Ty Lee did acrobatic moves into the gondola and then out again.

I pushed away from my brother angrily and punched him in the shoulder. "Damn you, Ryuu! I'm old enough to fend for myself, and you and Zuko both need to learn that."

More fire blasts, and then the sound of a blade through the air. Then it repeated.

Ryuu grabbed my shirtsleeve then sat me down hard on the ground, next to the rock cribs where the babies were silently sleeping. "Stay there. Watch the twins. For me."

There was more fire, then I saw booted feet hanging over the edge, and then they were gone and there was more fire. I saw blue lightning go off on the opposite side of where I was sitting.

I had to take a deep breath as I looked over to the window where he was trying to pull himself up. "Y…you're going to leave when we get away, aren't you?"

He instantly knew that it showed in his eyes. "I've got to save my family." He _wasn't_ going to stay...and I wasn't the part of his family that I wanted to be. The pain in his eyes showed when he pulled himself up and away, into the fight.

I sighed and leaned over the babies as they started to fuss from the noise. I gently started rocking the cribs, humming the lullaby that I'd sung to Jasmine earlier that day. One of them was a little girl, with thin brown hair on her head. When she opened her eyes, they were losing their blue quickly—in fact, they were almost topaz. The boy was still asleep, his darker skin accompanied by a thick head of black hair. He was smacking his lips in his sleep, and it was adorable.

I started to feel a pang of want in my chest. My hand instantly went to my stomach as I tried to keep from reopening old wounds. I suddenly wanted my _own_ child, the one who'd been taken on the Day of Black Sun.

Knowing that thinking about it would only hurt more, I instead focused on my beautiful niece and nephew. They were the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. It made me feel like I could move on, when I saw this new life. That the world would be a better place. I wanted to make the world better, so that both of them could have the best lives possible.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fight raging above me. I wanted to be up there, helping them, but I was supposed to watch the babies. And, I'd forgotten about the Warden, too. He was grumbling, so I sighed and told him to be quiet.

But I should have been paying more attention. He was free of the bonds I'd put him in, and he suddenly got up, screaming out the side to cut the line. I jumped up and had him down in a second, but the damage had already been done. Looking back at the loading docks, I saw that the guards there put large metal poles into the reels and the gondola shook to a halt. I took that time to haul myself up on top. Sokka was sliding off, but Zuko grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

Ty Lee did some acrobatics up to the top, and her eyes widened in panic. "They're about to cut the line!"

Azula looked back to the two men who had a giant handsaw and were sawing back and forth on it. She turned her attention back to Ty Lee with a shocked expression on her face. "If we're going down," I told her darkly, "so are you."

Her eyes met mine and she glared. Though, when she saw my prison guard, she seemed happier at that. "Emiko. It seems that this is goodbye." Suddenly she propelled herself up with Firebending and smiled at her brother. "Goodbye, Zuko."

Mai and Ty Lee did acrobatics and followed Azula onto another gondola that was heading towards the prison. The five of us on top stood in a line and watched as Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai made their escape. Then we jumped back into the gondola.

"I hope this thing floats," Hakoda mumbled as he looked over the edge. I looked over to see Naomi with Ryuu, huddling over their children. Sokka and Zuko were huddling together, trying to figure out a plan. And I was still staring down at the line that was being cut.

The two guards were almost done cutting the lines when four ninja stars pinned the guard's arms to the wall. "What are you doing?" one of them yelled. My attention was diverted.

"Saving my baby sister, my brother, and my niece and nephew," Jasmine scowled. Two of the other guards attacked with fire, but Jasmine blocked it and knocked them over with her own fire. She was much more controlled this time, and I was so, so happy that she was here. Then she slid under the blast of others and threw more ninja stars. The more guards there were, the more Firebending and throwing stars there were.

Fore her last trick, Jasmine ran and kicked the metal pole out of the reel so our gondola could move again.

"Who's that?" Sokka asked as we all moved to see why we weren't falling into the boiling lake below. He wasn't complaining, exactly, but he never took anything without questioning it.

I moved to where he was standing, noticing that he had a better view. I grabbed his hand in happiness, so proud of her that my heart could have exploded. "She's my sister." I looked up in time to see that his face was surprised, but he wasn't looking at my sister. He was looking at me, at least until he cleared his throat and looked back out to the action down below.

Azula, over on the other gondola, was so angry that I could hear her scream of rage. "What is she _doing_?"

I was so relieved when the gondola came to a halt. Naomi and Ryuu were the first two out, holding a baby each. Sokka, still holding my hand, pulled me out, and then Hakoda and Zuko followed last. The Warden was left inside.

"Well, we made it out," Naomi said as we stopped at the edge of the volcano. It was a dead end—no way out now that we'd made it this far. Our balloon was gone, Naomi was almost dead from fatigue, so no Earthbending, and there was nowhere to hide. "Now what?"

Sokka's hand squeezed mine, as if he could feel exactly what I was. I noticed then that his hand was cool and callused against mine, which was slightly softer. I'd never been one to wield a weapon—if I did, it was a staff, and occasionally a sword. I wasn't good at it like I was at Firebending.

Anyways, his hand felt nice. But he took it out of mine when he turned around and yelled, "Zuko, what are you _doing_?"

"My sister was on that island."

"Yeah, and she's probably right behind us, so let's not stop!"

Zuko shook his head. "What I mean is that she must've gotten here somehow." He ran up a little farther and then pointed down at...at our chance to escape. "There. That's our way out."

Naomi looked at the flying machine warily, but she nodded and slowly got in. Her babies were her only reason to use the machine. Ryuu followed in quickly. Sokka and his father ran in together. Zuko had already run in.

I turned around and looked back down to the prison. Jasmine, Mai, and Ty Lee were standing around a fallen Princess, staring at her. I saw my sister look up at me.

She nodded once, slowly, before she was overtaken by guards.

* * *

**I love Jasmine. And in the next few chapters, you'll love Naomi! Next chapter, you get some Naomi/Toph interaction and some bonding between Zuko and Emiko once again.**

Ryuu ran through the halls, looking for his little sister. _Maybe a full moon night would've been better for this talk…at least then she would have been calmer. _He was about to give up when sobs came from Zuko's room. Looking in, he saw Emiko snuggled up in Zuko chest, crying while he patted her back.

"I can't b-believe I l-let her g-go!"

The burned Prince held her close to him, gently rocking her back in forth to comfort her. A small, burning rage started burning him, but he held it in check as he listened in. "It wasn't your fault, Emiko. She said it herself. She wanted to save you, your brother, and the babies."

Emiko pushed away from the Prince. Ryuu couldn't help but look at her and frown. She'd changed from the beautiful little girl he'd remembered. She used to smile at every turn. She'd comfort someone who felt guilty, even if the guilt was for something they'd done to her. But now...she was this...this short-haired, feral-looking woman who was not his sister.

**Reviews? Yes?**


	30. Listening

**Wow. This chapter just did _not_ want to be written. Sorry it took so long, guys! My plot bunnies just don't seem to want to work for this story! **

********RATED M********

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, yada-yada.**

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**Listening**

She was tall, almost too tall to be an Earthbender. Her weight compared to the height was wrong for any kind of bending, besides air. She was too far off the ground and far too light—she would get crushed!

Toph scowled at the woman who was practicing with Aang. Well, not "at" her, but towards her direction. She didn't even think that she'd be able to "look" directly at the very tall woman's face, anyways. Apparently, according to Sokka, Emiko's brother, and Zuko, she was very "beautiful." Not that Toph could see. But if her Earthbending was any consideration, this woman had a long way before she could be considered beautiful in Toph's eyes...or mind, anyways.

So, there she was, pouting because no one had asked her to practice. Aang and "Naomi" were practicing Earthbending, Ryuu, Emiko, and Zuko were practicing Firebending perfectly in sync, and Katara was cooking. Toph could only imagine what horror she'd come up with _that_ day.

Anyways, that was when she felt the woman's presence next to her. "Naomi" had just finished practicing, because her heart was beating too fast and her breathing was rapid. Both of these meant that she was out of shape. "Hello," the woman said in a low, breathy voice.

Toph gave off a _hmph_ in recognition before she went back to pouting. The woman was looking out to where the three Firebenders were practicing. From where Toph was sitting, she could feel their vibrations in the earth. They were all moving with the same, precise motions. Every so often, they would stop and argue, but then they'd continue again. Aang joined them soon after.

"So I hear that you're a master," the woman said, leaning back against the fountain, just as Toph was.

"Yeah? So?" Toph was still a little sore about not getting asked to bend. She knew that she shouldn't have taken it out on the new lady, but Naomi's brats had been keeping Toph up at night. Plus, Aang had asked _her_ to practice with, not Toph.

"So," the woman said, her foot twitching in beat with the other benders, "I was wondering if you would train me."

Well, that caught Toph off guard. She "looked" at the older lady and scrunched her face up. "You seemed alright practicing with Twinkle-Toes."

"Twinkle—?" She paused and said, "Oh. Aang. No, I was just teaching him something that I learned a while ago. I was surprised when he didn't know it."

"Oh?" Toph asked, feeling quite irritated with her. How dare this woman go up to Toph's pupil and try to teach him something! "If I think about it, I'm pretty sure that Aang is _my _student."

Toph felt the woman fidget—something that would very quickly get on her nerves. "I'm not trying to step on any toes, Toph. Its just that all bending is different. You prefer the Praying Mantis style, I hear. Your feet will almost never leave the ground. My style is much like Airbending. It is light and airy. I use the vibrations in the ground to propel myself into the air, to walk so lightly that almost no one knows I'm coming."

"That's not real Earthbending," Toph scowled, wishing that this woman would just leave her alone. "You've got to be in touch with the earth. You've got to feel it, not jump away from it."

Naomi turned towards her. "That's why I want to learn from you. I've been taught this style since my family learned I was an Earthbender. I was taught to use my bending to fix things, not fight. I improvise."

"You _improvise?_" Toph asked, scrunching her face up in irritation.

"I wait and watch...and I listen to the vibrations."

Toph thought on that for a moment, feeling the vibrations around her and wondering how one could "listen" to them at the same time. When rock moved, it obviously made noises, as did everything and everyone else. (Twinkle-Toes excluded.) "I don't follow."

"Aang didn't understand either," Naomi said softly, pulling her feet up underneath her. She was no longer wearing a skirt, allowing her to do so. "Take your feet off the ground."

"_What_?" Toph asked, incredulous. "No way!"

There was a smug aura around the older woman as she closed her eyes and started breathing evenly. "I took you as the kind that wanted to be the best. Was I wrong?"

"No," Toph said grudgingly, mumbling under her breath as she pulled her feet up and mimicked the woman. She could still feel small vibrations through the sides of her feet, but she was still half-blind. "What do you mean by listening to the vibrations? It all makes the same noise!"

"No, it doesn't. Not if you listen closely." No longer was Naomi fidgeting. Instead, she was sitting as still as a stone, her hands on her crossed legs. I'm surprised that since your sense of sight is gone, your hearing isn't better."

"My hearing is just fine!"

"Not fine enough, apparently."

Toph was getting fed up with this. Naomi wasn't saying anything, just sitting there like that! So finally she quieted her mind and sat just as Naomi did, calming her breathing, extending what she could "hear" slowly but surely. She could hear Emiko and Ryuu practicing somewhere down below her, and then there was some kind of bird-like animal chirping above her head.

A small movement of Naomi's lips caught Toph's attention. "Good. I was going to sit here for as long as it took until you quieted. Aang wouldn't stop asking questions. We sat there for an hour until he finally understood the meaning of this exercise."

Toph had to smirk at that. "Sounds like Twinkle-Toes to me, alright."

"I want you to push your hearing as far as it can go. Listen to the creek half a mile to our right. Listen to the family of birds in the tree to our southwest. Ignore my husband and sister-in-law practicing. We'll get to them in a moment. Oh...and don't use your ears."

Toph did as she was told, wanting to grumble under her breath, but too full of pride to _not_ learn this. So she concentrated as hard as she could, trying to "hear" the stream and the family of birds. She wanted to tell that woman that she was crazy, and that no one could hear something a half a mile away, when she reached out with her Earthhbending instead, feeling the subtle vibrations that ran down the tree from the next, "hearing" each individual peep, and feeling the bottom of the stream that ran through the deserted air temple.

Naomi must have caught on that Toph knew what was happening, because she smiled next to Toph and moved only slightly. "Excellent, my student. Now...could you teach me that tent thing? It would be _so_ useful to hide myself in when it's my husband's turn to change the diapers."

Toph opened her eyes and stared what she thought was incredulously at the woman before bursting out laughing. "Yeah, whatever you say, Princess."

_**Ryuu**_

Ryuu moved through the familiar moves with his sister, trying to regulate his breathing after all the years of not staying in shape. His life in Ba Sing Se, while at first troubled, had soon been turned into a life of luxury. After that, he'd gone straight to the Boiling Rock. He'd tried to stay in shape, obviously to please his beautiful bride, (and to keep the inmates off his back,) but he hadn't been able to train as vigorously as Emiko had insisted they do that day.

It was going on four hours about that time.

_At least we aren't dueling at the moment, _he thought, taking deep breaths through the long, flowing movements that he remembered their mother teaching them. Emiko had always been the one who'd gotten things right—it had taken him twice as long to do anything that she did. He'd get frustrated and storm away, much like his father.

_Their_ father. Ryuu had gotten to know their father more than Emiko had. She'd only seen the side of him after their mother had died; the sad, angry part of him that came out when he'd lost the love of his life. Ryuu remembered games of catch, nights of endless adventures before he went to sleep. But Emiko, who was almost seven years younger, hadn't gotten to see any of that.

"Getting tired yet?" Emiko asked, never breaking stride.

Ryuu thought he could see a glimpse of smugness in her eyes—which looked a lot like their mother's eyes, now that he thought of it—but it was gone in a second. "Not if you aren't."

"You're out of shape, old man." She said this laughingly, but even though she was joking, it was true and they both knew it.

So instead he said, "I'm not old. Just...older."

"Can't keep up with these young bones," she mocked, dancing away from the playful punch he sent her way.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Let's see about that!" He shot out a flame a little weaker than normal, not realizing exactly how tired he was. He also didn't realize how much energy Emiko actually had left.

She smirked in a devilish way and spun around, creating some kind of fire tornado that he'd never before witnessed. It swallowed his flames without a second thought, turning it into a pink stream through the white color of her fire. When the flames stopped, she was standing there, one eyebrow raised like it was mocking him.

"Well...maybe I don't know your fancy new Avatar-friend moves," he scoffed as he pulled his shirt off over his head, "but I could beat you with weapons or hand-to-hand combat, definitely."

She scoffed right back at him. "You wish."

So they started sparring with bare hands and feet, her lean, almost scrawny arms and legs deflecting his as if they were nothing but sticks. In truth, he knew that he was a little weaker than he was before he'd been taken to the prison, but not _that _much weaker.

Emiko punched out her hands three, four, five times in a row, and he blocked all of them, not noticing the foot that was coming around to kick him in the side of the face. He fell to the ground, his cheek and jaw throbbing.

"Oh, _Koh_," she swore heavily, sitting down beside him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay?"

Ryuu nodded and rubbed his jaw where it was sore. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

She shrugged, looking kind of embarrassed. "I blame the pirates."

"_Pirates_?"

She nodded seriously, though he could hardly believe what she was telling him. "For a year, yeah." She held out her hand and pulled him up when he accepted it.

He looked at her for a moment longer, scrunching his eyes as if he could see something that wasn't her, that wasn't his baby sister. "You're telling me that you were with pirates for a whole year?"

"A bounty hunter and a group of Freedom Fighters, too." Emiko paused a moment, looking at him as if he had two heads. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ryuu didn't know the answer to that. It was as if he were looking at a completely different person. Who was this woman who'd taken the place of his baby sister? What happened to the long, black ponytails and the dimples in her cheeks? "What exactly have you been doing all these years, Emiko?"

She smiled sadly, the pain of a thousand people on her small, delicate shoulders. She moved forwards and wrapped her arms around him, sticking her head in his bare chest and sighing. "I've been discovering myself."

Ryuu nodded slowly, trying to figure out exactly what was going on in that strange little head. "And what did you find?" he asked softly, smoothing down her short, sweaty locks.

"I found too much." This came out in a whisper. It felt like the wind died then, making it ten degrees hotter out there. Everything was completely silent except for their breathing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She was silent for a moment, so he hoped that she would say yes. When her silence dragged on for a little too long, he put his head on hers and hugged her a little tighter, humming something he remembered from a long time ago. "You can trust me, Em."

Her whispered, "I know," was so quiet, he wouldn't have heard it if he wasn't listening. "I...I found a family. But they're lost to me now."

"I'm here," he said, giving her a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be here for you, I promise."

She sobbed quietly, her small frame shaking beneath his hands. "I-I know. But the rest of them won't be."

Ryuu, confused from the last statement, held his sister at arm's length and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Are you talking about Jasmine?"

Emiko wouldn't look at him. "Jasmine...Daddy...Uncle...my b—" She stopped before she said whatever it was that she was going to say, going completely red in the face. "I-It doesn't matter. They're not here, and each reason is my fault."

Now he knew what her problem was. She was walking around with all of this guilt on her shoulders. She'd been involved in each problem, according to the stories he'd heard, but none of them had been her fault. "Emiko. From what I've heard, Dad brought his death upon himself."

"_He didn't take my hand_," she sobbed, bringing her hands up to her face. Ryuu wrapped his arms around her again and rocked her back and forth. "I was right there, and he didn't take my hand!"

"It was his own pride that killed him, Em. I know that, you know that, you just won't accept it." He knew that she was traumatized from that experience. What else was going on in that little head of hers? "And you said Jasmine? She helped us escape. She didn't want you to pity her choice; she did it of her own free will."

"I could have saved her, too!"

Ryuu sighed and shook his head, giving his sister a squeeze. "You can't save everyone, Em."

"They took Uncle. They took Uncle, and Jasmine, and one of these days they'll find me, or Zuko, or _you _and the babies! They had you and Naomi and I didn't even know it!"

"We're fine now. That's all that matters."

"Jasmine could be dead," she whispered softly, wiping her face of tears. "And it would be my fault, just like Daddy, just like Momma."

"Mom?" Ryuu asked, holding her away again to look into her face. "What are you talking about? Mom died in a fire. You weren't even there."

Emiko's eyes widened as if she had just realized what she'd done. "Oh my...oh, Agni!" Suddenly she pushed him away and turned, running for the safety of the Temple.

"Emiko!" he shouted after her, cursing when she just put on more speed. He was so out of shape; it hurt to even take a step after the hours of strenuous work. He forced himself into a painful jog and ran to catch up with her.

He saw her turn a corner ahead, so he pushed faster. When he rounded that corner, he saw that she'd fallen to her knees in the middle of the hallway, grasping the floor with her hands. He wanted to confront her, at least until Zuko came out of his room and picked her up. He seemed to be asking her what was wrong, and she was just shaking her head and crying.

Zuko then took her into his room.

Ryuu felt his anger flare before he took a deep breath, knowing he didn't have the energy for the anger. He was tired and confused and he wanted answers from his little sister. Looking into Zuko's room, he saw Emiko snuggled up in Zuko chest, crying while he patted her back.

"I can't b-believe I l-let her g-go!"

_Let who go, Emiko? _Ryuu thought, narrowing his eyes at the couple._ Jasmine...or Mom?_

The burned Prince held her close to him, gently rocking her back in forth to comfort her. A small, burning rage started burning in Ryuu, but he held it in check as he listened in. "It wasn't your fault, Emiko. She said it herself. She wanted to save you, your brother, and the babies."

_Exactly what I said! _Ryuu thought as Emiko pushed away from the prince. He couldn't help but look at her and frown. She'd changed from the beautiful little girl he'd remembered. She used to smile at every turn. She'd comfort someone who felt guilty, even if the guilt was for something they'd done to her. But now...she was this...this short-haired, feral-looking woman who was not his sister.

The banished Prince wrapped his arms around her while she ranted. "Emiko, please. This isn't helping you any. All you're doing is beating yourself up for what couldn't have been avoided."

"I could have gone back," she whispered, taking a deep breath. "I could have propelled myself back down the line to save her."

"And you would have been captured too." Zuko sighed, just as frustrated as Ryuu was. "What started all of this, anyways?"

Emiko took a deep breath and crossed her arms, looking out the window into the almost set sun. "Ryuu and I got into a fight. I...I'm sorry." She seemed to suddenly realize where she was, and she blushed, looking bashful. "I shouldn't have come in here." She moved to leave, so Ryuu stepped out of the way. But then he heard one word that made him angry as Koh, but he knew well enough to leave well enough alone.

He'd get the answers some other time.

**Emiko**

Zuko walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around me so that I couldn't leave. "_Stay_," he whispered, his breath sending chills up my spine. I suddenly remembered the passion he'd given me, and the love. But I knew why I couldn't stay.

"I _can't_," I breathed, new tears threatening to come. I felt like I was choking on them.

He leaned down and kissed my bare shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up anymore. Stay. Let me comfort you."

I shivered and clenched my hands. This guy was like my tranquilizer, and I hated it. Maybe I wanted to be mad. Maybe I _wanted _to express my feelings. But not to him. I'd end up saying something that I didn't feel like I could say. "Maybe I want to beat myself up," I told him, stepping out of his range. "I need to let all of this out, and I can't tell the other girls. Maybe Naomi, but then I'd just feel all…I don't know, uncomfortable? I don't know them well enough, and I can't tell Aang or Sokka. I definitely can't talk to Ryuu, so…"

"All that leaves is me," Zuko said, walking forward and trapping me against the wall. He put his forehead to mine and smiled that Zuko smile, the one that left my knees shaking and my heart squeezed. "And I can listen all night if I have to."

I smiled back, if ever so weakly. "N-no…I think I'm okay." D_on't start this now._

"I'm not so sure about that," he whispered, leaning forwards, his lips gently brushing against my cheek. That familiar clench in my stomach was terrifying and thrilling at the same time. I remembered all the times I'd ever taken out all my frustration on his lips, letting his hands work out the tension in my body. "Let me..._comfort you_..."

His lips touched mine, and I felt the same heat that filled me every time we kissed. He slowly parted my lips with his, his hot breath filling my mouth. When I tilted my head, he only chuckled into me and he slanted his mouth over mine once, twice, knowing that I wanted something to take out my anger on.

I felt my hands grasping his longer hair, pulling us closer as his hands gripped my hips. He pushed me further into the wall as his tongue flickered against mine, making my knees go weak. I'd forgotten how he kissed me as if he were dying of thirst and I was cool, refreshing water. His lips had always been rough and hectic.

His hands moved around behind me, grasping my butt and pulling me onto him, my legs falling easily to either side of his hips, remembering each move with perfection. A hot flash of want ran through me as my knees gripped his hips, pushing his cock against the part of me that wanted him most. Zuko seemed to know exactly what I wanted as he thrust against me once, hard, pushing me into the wall.

He growled something against my lips that sounded a lot like, _"Bed."_ When he pulled me onto him and moved us to the bed, I knew that it was exactly what he'd said. We barely made it to the side when he pushed me down and pulled off his shirt, unbuckling his pants.

I sat myself up on my arms, breathing heavily from the kisses, when I felt him behind me. His hands grasped my pants and pulled them down roughly. And then he was inside of me.

I'd forgotten how good he'd felt, thick and pulsing with warmth. This new position added to the pleasure he usually gave me, hitting that spot he couldn't normally reach. He didn't stop for me to get used to him after all that time. Instead, he pounded into me with long, harsh strokes that left me gasping for breath.

My fingers were tangled in the sheets, gripping so tightly that I almost ripped through them. I knew that this set would have to be thrown out; already I was burning the fabric.

Zuko's hands were burning on my back as he ran his hands down my skin. It wasn't because of the mind-blowing sex, either—his hands were actually _burning._ I bit my lip to keep from letting out a scream as his hands moved around my body to cup my breasts, squeezing them. He leaned forwards over my back with one particular thrust and attached his mouth to the back of my neck.

There were way too many sensations going through my body.

The part of me that wanted release thrust my body backwards, meeting him with each hard stroke. The part of me that was scared senselessly, (which wasn't a very large part, mind you,) whimpered audibly. The next moment, though, the moan that came out of my mouth was loud and shameless. Parts of me wanted everything—for his lips to keep moving on my neck, for his hands to brand my skin as his, for his cock to go even faster inside of me.

"Is this what you—wanted?" he asked between thrusts, making me gasp for air as he bit my neck harshly. His voice sounded harsh and hateful.

"Wh-what?" I barely got out, trying to turn and look at him.

He sat back up and ran his nails down my back, making me cry out. "All of that teasing... You, walking around with Sokka, flirting with him... You wouldn't even talk to me. Is _this—_" he punctuated the word with the deepest thrust yet, "what you wanted all that time?"

The side of me that always fought with Zuko bubbled, at least until I felt his nails dig into my skin. A small whimper escaped my lips before I moaned. I couldn't even answer him.

"I forgot how tight you were," he moaned, his hands gripping different parts of my body every time he thrust. "But you haven't forgotten anything. You've wanted this all along, haven't you?"

I tried to shake my head, but my body wouldn't listen. All I could feel were the sensations running through me as he thrust in partially, pulled out, and then slammed into me fully. Even he couldn't help but let out a strangled gasp. "Z-Zuko..."

"I didn't understand." _Thrust_. "You were mine." _Thrust._ I had to bite my lip again, tasting blood in my mouth. "And you _betrayed me._"

"I-I didn't...I was..."

He shouted loudly as he grasped me around my waist, pulling me up to him. I didn't know how he could keep thrusting in that position, but it was so hard to keep the moans away now. I let my head fall back onto his shoulder as he breathed raggedly in my ear. "I never wanted your body more than when I first saw you back at the Capitol." Zuko started nibbling on my ear, tugging on it with his teeth.

"Z...Zuko..."

"But you shied away from me. It was as if you were scared to be touched my these hands." Those same hands were massaging my breasts again before his fingers flared with fire and pinched my nipples. "And then, you went to those war meetings. You used your position as the trainer to send away half of the domestic troops on a _wild goose chase._ You betrayed the Fire Nation."

"I-I...I've always..."

"You've always _what?_" he asked, thrusting up into me again. My scream got caught in my throat. "You've always betrayed me?" His hands moved from my breasts, down my stomach to brush against my curls.

"N-not y-you...F-Fire N-Nation..._ah_!" His fingers found that little nub hidden among the curls and he was pinching it harshly. My body tightened as he plucked it, suddenly coming undone as he bit the side of my neck and thrust once, hard, into me.

"Why did you really go back?" he yelled, grasping my hair with his free hand and pulling my head back onto his shoulder. I screamed from the pain and from the orgasm that was still going through me. "Why did you go to the Avatar when the Day of Black Sun was over?"

I felt the tears starting to flow as he started thrusting into me savagely. "Zuko, I—"

His own cry of release silenced me. My inner walls started milking him of his seed as his member pulsed with heat. He fell down on top of me, his hand still gripping my most intimate part, his member still inside of me. Both of us were breathing hard, and neither one of us said a word.

It was a while before my heartbeat calmed down. Neither of us made to move, even though he was heavy on my back. I could feel his breathing as he leaned up to gently place a kiss on my neck. "I'm sorry," he whispered, rolling off of me.

His arm wound around my waist, pulling me snug to him. I hadn't noticed, but I was crying. He kept raining kisses down my neck, over the burn he'd given me months ago, and whispering apologies that could never heal my pain.

"I'm sorry I left that day. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain..." His hand gently brushed over my burned shoulder, making a sob wrack my body. "I just want to be here for you."

I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, too. I wanted to tell him that that should have never happened—that _none of it_ should have ever happened, no matter how much my body wanted him to enter me again and again. "I followed you back because...because I thought I needed you."

He leaned up on one arm, looking down on me with those beautiful topaz eyes, so full of warmth and love, both aimed at me. "You _thought_ you needed me?" he asked, his finger tracing the contour of my jaw.

"I had you, finally, all to myself in Ba Sing Se," I whispered, closing my eyes and feeling his hands on me. I could see us back then, all smiles and happiness. "I thought that we could grow old together, have a life...but then she came back. I thought we'd been safe. We deserved it after everything we'd been through."

"I'd thought so, too." His eyes were concerned now, as he looked down at me. "You came back because you thought we deserved happiness?"

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "You've been through so much. I wanted you to be able to settle down. With someone who cared about you." I cupped his cheek in my hand, tears coming to my eyes again as I smiled at him. "You deserve to be happy."

His fingers gently brushed my tears away as he leaned down to gently kiss me again. "With you?"

"With me, with someone, as long as you're happy." It would kill me to see him with someone else. I loved him to want him all to myself—but I also loved him enough to be able to let him go, if he didn't want me anymore.

Zuko smirked his trademark "Zuko-smirk" and kissed me once, twice more in a way that made my heart ache. He then laid down next to me, pulling me to his side. "Get some sleep, Emiko. You've been through a lot."

I snuggled up next to his warmth, wondering how I could have slept without him by my side. "You're a good listener, Zuko."

He snorted. "You too."

* * *

**Well...this was SO not the way this chapter was written. It's been written about, what, four times now? And this was how the plot bunnies were happy. Then again, Zuko smut makes EVERYONE happy, not just the plot bunnies.**

**Next chapter? The moment you've been worried about!**

His eyes widened and he started shaking his head in horror. "_What?_"

I couldn't say anything, only drop my hands from his arms and step away, shaking my head. "O-our...our baby..." I started shaking and crying even harder, grasping my stomach. His eyes were instantly drawn there, realization creeping onto his face.

"Emiko," he whispered, grasping my face. His eyes were now wide and scared, the topaz glistening with some kind of hope. But he was just as scared as I was. "What baby?"

"_My_ baby," I sobbed, still clutching my stomach as I let out a high whine of pain.

Zuko pulled me to him for a second, holding me close. I put my head in his neck and cried, gripping the muscles in his back as he ran his fingers through my hair. "Emiko...I..."

I shook my head, not wanting him to say anything. I didn't want him to apologize, or yell, or anything, just hold me. I wanted him to come with us and escape, like the rest of us were doing. I thought that maybe, just maybe he might do it.

I was wrong.

"Ryuu!" he cried, taking his head off of mine. "Get your sister to safety!"


	31. The Truth

**Yes, yes, I know. You can chase me with torches and pitchforks if it makes you happy. I'm an awful person.**

**I'm so close to the end of this story, I can _taste _it!**

**Disclaimer: Me no owny Avatar, mmkay?**

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**The Truth**

The smell…ash and Jasmine tea together made the sent of…of _him_. I lifted my hand up and traced his straight nose, those high cheekbones. My lips touched the middle of his forehead, and he smiled before whispering my name.

My heart fluttered. How had it come back to this, _always_ to _this_? It didn't matter what would happen, or who had gotten in our way, we would always wind up back together. Was it fate, destiny, did I really _care_, as long as I could feel this content and lay beside him?

I used my fingers to outline his strong jaw and chin. It was so well defined, and I remembered kissing it multiple times before. A small stubble was growing already, making me smile. I kept tracing the parts of his face. My thumb rubbed up against the scar on his eye, and he seemed to flinch under my touch. I pulled away automatically, knowing his pain.

I let my fingers trace his eyes and saw that he actually had thick eyelashes; they brushed his cheeks while his chest moved up and down against mine rhythmically.

Finally I traced his lips—which I saved for last.

I curled up silently into Zuko's bare chest. He instinctively wrapped his arms tighter around me and put his head into my hair. His muscled arms felt cool against my skin. I placed my palms against his chest, feeling goose bumps raise his flesh.

"You awake?" I asked him softly, taking in his smell once again.

"Hmm…" he mumbled, running his nose across my forehead.

"Zuko..." I hummed, running my hands up through his hair, warming my palms as I gently massaged the back of his scalp. "You have to wake up." A small moan came from his lips, and he pulled me closer, digging his face into my neck. His reaction sent spikes of heat through me. I chuckled at him and put my lips to his ear. "_Zuko..._"

Suddenly I was flipped over, onto my back, his legs straddling mine. There was a fire in his bright topaz eyes as his body warmed up above mine.

I couldn't help but smile at his messy hair, not to mention his own naked body against mine. "Good morning," I whispered, my hands still on his scalp, slowly pulling his lips closer to mine. When his warm, rough lips were on mine, I smiled and said, "You were already awake."

"You're just so..._warm_," he whispered as he grabbed my face almost roughly. He kissed me in earnest, his unyielding lips moving against mine. His tongue gently slipped through my lips, caressing mine in away that made my stomach quiver and my head spin.

Now maybe I should've known better, or had better defenses. He had never gotten to me so easily, yet I didn't actually care. I was trying my hardest not to throw my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his waist.

Instead, he welded me to his warm exterior and sighed, parting my lips even further.

I shivered and let him kiss me passionately. Our embrace was warm and rough, and I had never felt anything like it from him before. When we were together, nothing else was important. Nothing else mattered.

Though this one moment was soon to be broken. I didn't know how it happened or why, but suddenly I was flying out of his grasp and into the wall next to the door—twenty feet away.

A growling sound was coming out of the black-haired man in front of me, his stance set like a lion-wolf that was about to pounce.

**Katara**

It was getting late—well, late for a Firebender...or two...to be sleeping. Didn't Zuko once tell her that he 'rose with the sun?' Well, the sun had been up for a couple of hours and so far, there was no one to stand up for the two. She had sneaking suspicions, something from what Toph had said the night before, but she wasn't going to say anything.

Aang walked up then, sitting next to her and the fire. He looked very, very tired, but there was a fire in his eyes, ever since he, Zuko, and Emiko had gone to find the true source of Firebending. One thing was for sure, nothing was boring at camp anymore. Aang had managed to burn down three trees, Emiko a building, and Zuko two load of laundry, (although the last one was probably on purpose, as both loads had been his duty.)

"Have you seen any three of my teachers today?" he asked, scratching the back of his head and looking around, slightly dazed. Katara noticed that he had taken to calling Ryuu his teacher as well, even though the adult had forgotten most of his bending from sloth.

Katara shook her head and stared into her bowl of noodles, not really hungry. She felt kind of useless, like a mother hen-duck without a flock to guide. Aang had already mastered Waterbending and he didn't need her help with his wound anymore; she'd done all she could. She wasn't as good of a cook as Naomi, so she was stuck as the laundry woman and that bugged her a little.

Aang sat down by her and looked at her quizically. "You okay?"

She knew that he would take whatever she gave him, and she so desperately wanted to say yes. That was a lie, though. She felt useless. "Kind of," she conceded, going for an answer in the middle.

"What's wrong?"

_He's so sweet,_ she thought, wondering how the kid with all the weight on his shoulders would want to take some from hers. "I'm just...sitting here."

"You could practice with Naomi," he offered.

Katara shook her head. "No, she's taking care of the babies."

"Toph? Sokka?"

"Sleeping and hunting."

He looked perplexed for a moment before offering, "Well, we haven't trained in a while. I don't want to get rusty on my Waterbending." The unspoken 'like Ryuu with his Firebending' hung amusingly in the air.

No matter how much Katara wanted to take the offer, she had to refuse. "No, you really need to work on your Firebending."

"Can't do that without a teacher. Well, I can, and I have been since dawn. I don't know what else to do now." He looked like he was about to say something else, but then Sokka walked up.

Sokka was whistling as he walked up next to them, dropping a bag of fish next to where Katara was sitting. "Sokka, master fisherman, at your service," he said seriously, giving off a low bow."

The bag seriously stunk. "Can't you put that somewhere where I'm _not_ eating?" Katara asked, pushing away her now-unappetizing bowl of noodles. "I mean, rea—"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Spouts of fire came from the hallway behind them, sending the three to their feet in alarm.

"Great way to start the afternoon," Sokka said, his face deadpan. Katara didn't find it funny.

Steadied in their stances, ready to fight whatever was coming out of that hallway, they were surprised to see half-dressed Firebenders rolling out onto the ground. They sprawled out on the floor, still in their nightwear.

As fast as they could, they jumped up and ran to the opposite side of where the fire came out. Ryuu jumped out next, his face set in a blaze of fury. Pipsqueak and Haru, roused by the noise, quickly detained him.

"Ryuu, what's going on?" Haru screamed as he and Pipsqueak tried to hold back the deadly older brother.

_Pretty Boy_ straightened up and sent a look so hot, it should have burned straight through Zuko. "I caught them in bed together."

**Emiko**

The first thing you want to do after a night of amazing sex is wake up with your older brother throwing you out of the bed. No, really, you should try it. After being thrown half way across the room, I'd hurriedly thrown back on the training wrap from yesterday, plus a pair of Zuko's pants that were much too big for me. That was when the Firebending started.

Ryuu pulled out of Pipsqueak's and Haru's grasps, quickly charging towards Zuko. I deflected his well-aimed kick at my boyfriend's nether regions, which I wanted just the way they were, and pushed him backwards. "You have no right to say what I do or don't do."

"You're sixteen!" he growled, his face set in fury. He tried to move around me, but I grabbed his arm and switched us back again, so my back was to Zuko and Ryuu was in front of me.

"Yes, and a legal adult!" Gods, I was seething. He had no right...no _claim_ to be doing this. "Stand down, Ryuu."

There was a cold glint in his eyes—eyes that looked exactly like our father's. "You think that just because you roamed around with some whoring pirates and a bounty hunter that you can—"

"Don't talk to me like that! You don't know anything!" He didn't realize what I'd gone through after mom had died. He'd been sent off to military school for almost burning down an entire town. And, when he'd gotten back, dad had made us into a "loving" little family. I didn't know much about my brother then. Turned out, I still didn't. "I'm nothing like you, Ryuu. I didn't get to marry into a rich little family and have it made. It was hard for me out there. This world is do or die."

His eyes were on fire, much like father's when he'd said all those things to me. I didn't realize it, but we had started circling each other, ready to fight. "How long did it take for the banished Prince to claim you as his, like he does everything else before he throws it away?"

"Shut _up_!" I growled, not noticing the growing crowd around us. I was scared at what he would say.

"You didn't think I knew? About you and him? In Ba Sing Se, I had it all figured out. I knew that that conniving little mole-worm was trying to get into your pa—"

"Shut UP!" I lunged at him and we both smacked into the floor, hard. I didn't bother looking at our little audience, all I wanted to do was strangle him until he would shut up and the blush would fade from my cheeks. I vaguely heard people telling us to stop, but couldn't hear them over our scuffle.

We were rolling across the floor, both of us trying to get the advantage. I knew that if he pinned me, his superior weight would get the better of me. This was exactly what happened. He was furious, I saw that on his face.

I, on the other hand, had to hold back a wad of spit from going into his eye. Oh, and a few tearless sobs. I'd already given him all the tears I could take. "Don't be like dad, Ryuu."

"_What ?_"

I thought I smelled something, far off in the distance. The heat around me was getting stronger even though I knew that it had to be a Firebender. It wasn't.

I kicked Ryuu off of me and jumped up, yelling, "Fireball!"

Everyone instantly ducked except for Aang, who jumped up and used his staff to deflect it. The exploding rectangle blew up a few feet away before Aang ran forward to try and deflect more.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. More and more came, and most of them made contact with the upside-down temple.

Haru ducked, taking with him the Duke and Pipsqueak. Ryuu tried to rush over to me so he could be protective, but I was already rushing forward to save the others. I reached the edge and saw something that I didn't want. At least four large airships were flying upwards. On top of one was my boyfriend's evil little sister.

Aang grabbed my arm and pulled me back under the overhang. Once we were inside the columns, he sent out a slash of air to close the metal-plated shutters. When they closed, it was completely dark.

I lit a fire in my hands and looked around. Grit was coming off the ceiling from the explosions caused by the bombs. "Is everyone alright?"

A few moans of assuring 'yeses' flooded my ears, making me very grateful, even though I knew that I would have to face all of them with a burning face as soon as all of this was over with. Ryuu and I still had some things to talk about, after all.

Suddenly the ground shook and Naomi was next to me, her eyes wide, both babies in slings around her body. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, I—" Her quaking made rocks start falling. Katara was directly under a few. Ryuu and Zuko, being the closest ones to her, instantly dove to save her. I ran from the rocks, glad that Naomi was an Earthbender and that she could keep the rocks at bay. I barely made it out of the way of a few before I reached Zuko.

I moved over to the rubble, seeing that Zuko had pushed Katara out of the way. He was straddling her, his head buried in her neck. I felt a blind rage consume me as I pried him off of her, clutching my exercise wrappings tighter around my chest.

Something inside of me split when I saw his face. Why hadn't he tried to save me, instead of Katara? Why hadn't he stayed by my side the entire time? He hadn't even tried to help me with Ryuu!

Zuko leaned down and gave me a small kiss under my ear before whispering, "Go on ahead."

"_What_?" I asked, feeling dumbstruck. "No, I'm going to help you!"

He didn't even try to smile at me—his face was like a stone wall, harsh and unyielding. "You're not going to get hurt again. I told you...I just want to be here for you. You go, I'll hold them off."

Tears of pain and suffering started building up in my eyes, making it hard to speak. I swallowed them down. "If you wanted that, you would have never left with Azula."

His eyes flashed with irritation as he glared at me. "This is not the time and you know it."

"It is _exactly _the time," I said low, stepping forwards to grasp his shoulders. "You pushed me away last time Azula showed up at Ba Sing Se. I'm not going to let her take you away from me again."

His eyes softened only slightly. His hands gripped my waist, holding onto me like I was his life preserver. "This is a family matter. I'm not going to get you involved." He leaned down to kiss me, but I dodged it.

"Your family is my family," I said, feeling panic start to build in my stomach. Breathing was hard enough, around him, but now I could barely see with the tears in my throat. "You were going to _propose._ We would've grown old, but she ruined it! And our baby—"

When the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was the wrong thing to say.

His eyes widened and he started shaking his head in horror. "_What?_ _Baby?_ How did you know about the necklace, and—_baby?_"

I couldn't say anything, only drop my hands from his arms and step away, shaking my head. "O-our...our baby..." I started shaking and felt a tear fall from my eyes, but no more would come. My hands fluttered to my stomach. His eyes were instantly drawn there, realization creeping onto his face.

"Emiko," he whispered, grasping my face. His eyes were now wide and scared, the topaz glistening with some kind of hope. But he was just as scared as I was. "What baby?"

"_My_ baby," I sobbed, still clutching my stomach as I let out a high whine of pain.

He pulled me to him for a second, holding me close. I put my head in his neck and shook, gripping the muscles in his back as he ran his fingers through my hair. "Emiko...I..."

I shook my head, not wanting him to say anything. I didn't want him to apologize, or yell, or anything, just hold me. I wanted him to go with me and escape, like the rest of us were doing. I thought that maybe, just maybe he might do it.

I was wrong.

"Ryuu!" he cried, taking his head off of mine. "Get your sister to safety!"

My head shot up and I looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Zuko, no!" But Ryuu's arms were around me already, prying me away from Zuko with more strength than I had. I beat against his shoulders as he pulled me away.

* * *

**Now he knows...**


	32. Realizations

**She's updating on _time_? Unheard of!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

**Pie.**

* * *

**Realizations**

I was alone, pitching my tent on the outer rim of the camp, when I saw them. They were sitting close together by the fire, her head on his shoulder, holding one baby each. The setting sun was shining off her long, beautiful hair, and the babies were just...gorgeous.

Naomi and Ryuu just looked..._happy_. There was no word to describe it other than that. He obviously loved her, even though they were nothing alike. He was the hot-headed Firebender. She was the down-to-earth Earthbender. They made a strange couple, but somehow, their love overcame everything.

I sat down inside my tent and let the flap cover fall over the open space, taking the four of them out of my view. I'd never felt more alone in a camp full of people. Ryuu, my only brother and one of the two living people in my family, was married, very happily, to the woman of his dreams. He wanted to go away and live peacefully with his wife and two adorable children. My sister had sacrificed herself for me, so that I could finish...whatever in Agni's name it was that I had to finish. My best friend was a child heiress who could snap me in two, and she couldn't even see me. My Uncle was gone, probably stuck in a prison somewhere. And my boyfriend...

I'd just told him my secret. Well, before Azula had tried to kill us again. He'd sent me away, putting me under my brother's "protection." I was hurt, tired, and sick of crying. I'd been doing that a lot lately, and I was starting to feel pathetic.

_I'm just...done,_ I thought, lying back and holding a hand over my eyes. _I don't know why Jasmine saved me. I'm just a pile of emotion-filled crap. _

Then, I sat up. "Snap out of it, Emiko. You're acting like some delusional child. Wake up. Be a woman." I took a deep breath and stretched out a little, standing up and doing some jumping jacks. "You are strong. You can pull through this. You are a _woman_!" I swung my arms around, stretching out my body. That was when my hand connected with a face.

I spun around to see Sokka holding his face, massaging his jaw where I had just hit him. "Ow. I didn't mean to interrupt, but you didn't have to hit me for it."

My hands flew to my mouth. "Oh my Goddess, Sokka, I'm so sorry!" I cried, rushing over to his side. We knelt on the ground as I held his face, trying to stanch the flow of the blood. "Okay, lean your head forwards, pinch the bridge of your nose..."

He laughed, his blue eyes twinkling against his dark skin. "So I can destroy a Combustion Man with my mighty weapon-prowess, but I get a nosebleed from some little Firebender hitting me in the face?"

The smile on his face made me smile in return. I held my hands against the smooth skin on his face, tilting his head down a little further. "I'm not just _some_ little Firebender. I happen to be the one who just...I didn't just break your nose, did I?"

Sokka shook his head, causing him to groan. "No, it's not broken. I'll be lucky if you didn't give me a black eye, though." He gave me a look above the fingers that were pinching his nose. "What was that all about, anyways? All I heard was, 'You are a _woman!_' before I was backhanded in the face!"

I felt a blush covering my cheeks as I pulled my hands away. Agni, didn't I feel stupid! I was giving myself an inspirational speech and suddenly, I had a Water Tribe warrior with a bloody nose on my hands. Not that I would tell him that. "I, uh...I was explaining some things to myself."

Obviously, that was the wrong answer. Sokka raised an eyebrow at me and nodded, as if telling me to go on. That sly look on his face made me blush even harder. It was hot enough in that one-man tent, I didn't need him in there, too, making me feel embarrassed. "Uh-huh."

"Not...like that." Damn, how much could a face burn before it was completely red? "I was just telling myself that I could take what the world throws at me."

"Good. For a second there, I was worried."

I raised an eyebrow at him, finally allowing him to put his face up just a little. The blood had finally stopped flowing, though there was some bruising, it looked like. "And what exactly were you worried about?"

"Either you were trying to convince Haru that he was a woman, or you were falling into some kind of sad, depressed state and were pulling yourself out of it. Since Haru is no longer with us, I'm glad you're in a better mindset."

I gave the wiseguy a pat on the face, making him groan, which then made me feel bad. "Oh, Agni, Sokka, I'm sorry!"

"Stop apologizing," he groaned, leaning down, clamping his hands over his nose and out of my reach. "I'm glad that you're feeling better, just stop hitting me."

"I'm—" I about told him that I was sorry again, but I caught myself. "Okay. I promise not to hit you anymore." He looked up and smirked at me, his wide lips pulling into a kind of attractive smile. I'd never noticed before, but Sokka was kind of...handsome. _That_ thought made me shake my head and look over his shoulder, noticing just what a beautiful shade of brown my tent was. "So, can I offer you something, or were you just here to get hit?"

"Both," he said sarcastically, at least before I gave him a glare. He held up his hands in self defense, crying, "Don't hit me!"

I had to laugh at that, and it felt great. I hadn't laughed in a very long time. When I finally opened my eyes, a wide smile on my face, I noticed that he was staring at me very curiously. "What?" I asked, staring at him again, wondering if I had something on my face.

"N-nothing!" he said quickly, standing up and turning around. "So, uh, dinner is about to start, and we were wondering if you wanted to join us, or—"

Obviously something had made him nervous, so I laughed again and stopped him before he stuttered to death. "Yeah, I'll be right out. Thanks for thinking about me."

He opened the tent flap as I stood up. "Thanks for hitting me."

"Sokka!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're 'sorry.'"

I started to laugh, at least until I saw Zuko and Ryuu sitting around the fire outside. Zuko was chatting happily with Aang and Katara. Ryuu was still sitting with Naomi. The girl in his arms burped, making a small flame appear right under Ryuu's too-long hair. I couldn't help but stare in awe. _My niece...is a Firebender..._

The scene was just too beautiful without me there.

"I...actually, I'm not very hungry, Sokka."

He turned back to me, a concerned look on his handsome, if not rugged, face. "You sure?"

I smiled shakily and nodded, wishing he'd close the flap to my tent. Naomi had noticed me and she was staring openly. Toph was smiling as if she knew that I'd hit Sokka. Katara just seemed to have noticed me, too and she was frowning. "Yeah. Just leave me some food, alright? I know how you boys are."

Sokka smiled hesitantly and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you want. Stay upbeat, alright? Just don't actually beat anyone up."

"Sokka..."

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

He let the tent flap close, encasing me in darkness once more. _Yeah, and so am I._

**o-o-o**

The woods...yeah. Not much to say about them. They were...woodsy...and full of trees and roots that I stumbled over. The rocks were nice, too, made my feet hurt and everything. It was a nice woods. Just like the one I'd walked through when I'd first started my journey.

_Funny...I'm missing an Earthbender or two._

I heard rustling behind me, and I looked up to see that it was my only friend I had left. I knew who it was from the soft sound of her footfalls, but I looked up just to be sure. I felt bad, but I actually didn't want to talk to her. "Hey, Red, you okay?" she asked in that 'Toph' voice.

_Spoke too soon. Hello, little miss Earthbender. Are you going to cut open my side with a slab of rock too? No? Too bad. _"No."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

Toph set her jaw and sat down next to me like a rock. "Well I'm going to sit here until you have to talk to me." Her smug smile seemed so proud. It just pissed me off and put me in an even worse mood. "I hope I annoy the Koh out of you. It should work. Is it working, Red? Huh? I wonder if—"

_Gods, I have to shut her up._ "Did you ever…fall in love?" I asked suddenly, quietly. I threw my head back and hit it against the tree trunk, knowing instantly that it was the wrong question to ask.

She stopped her rambling and gave me an unbelieving look. "_What_?"

I shook my head and sighed, moving to stand up. She was like, thirteen. I doubted she'd ever had more than a crush. _Here I am again, with only a kid to talk to. Here I am, once again pathetic. I'm talking to a thirteen-year-old girl about my love life! Has she even ever kissed a guy?_ "Never mind."

Toph grabbed my shirtsleeve and pulled me back down to the ground as hard as she could. And believe me, that was pretty damn hard. "Nuh-uh. You're gonna sit here and tell me what you meant."

"You're just a child," I mumbled, rubbing my butt. "You wouldn't understand."

"I understand just about everything," she defended, punching me in the arm. "What I want to know is why your stance around Princey is so defensive now."

"Because…" I hesitated slightly and felt as if my heart would be ripped out if I said any more. But I had to. Letting some of this out should've made me feel better, right? "Because he knows about the baby now, Toph. I lost his baby and I can't meet his eyes. I can't look at him without feeling this...this _emptiness _inside, right here." I placed a hand where my baby had been growing, wondering if, perhaps, he would have looked like Zuko. Or if she would have looked like my mom.

I had to take a deep breath during the silent moment there. When I looked over, Toph was serious, her eyes downcast. "Huh.."

"That's all he had to say about it, too. Except it was framed in more of a question."

Toph nodded and leaned her head back on the tree, mimicking my motions. "I won't apologize, Emiko. I'm not gonna show you pity. When I met you, back at that political 'meeting,' I didn't show you any pity then. You didn't show me any, either. You loved Zuko, and you were about to have his baby. I can't say that I know what its like, because I don't. I can't tell you what to feel, because I don't know what it feels like. All I know is that you can't sit out here, brooding, when you've got to talk to him about it."

I groaned and pulled my head up, a difficult task in and of itself, and cradled my face in my hands. "Why am I getting advice from a kid?"

"Because you know I'm right?" She didn't sound so sure this time. But it didn't matter. I knew what I had to do. "Just talk to the guy. He just figured out that he lost a kid he never even knew he _had_."

Another groan escaped my lips before I forced myself to my feet, stretching my shoulders and neck out. "Right.._talk."_

**o-o-o**

Zuko was just exiting Sokka's tent after a _very...interesting_ talk inside_._ My heart ached, my stomach hurt, but I knew that I had to talk to Zuko. He deserved to know what had happened, when, _how_ it had happened. Obviously he knew how, but...

I realized I was stalling and walked towards him, trying to figure out how to start our conversation. _"So, we slept together, I was having your baby, and your sister, Azula, ruined it all and made me be at the Capitol when the sun was covered by the moon. Lost my baby. Just thought you should know." _Ugh, it sounded crude, even in my mind.

He went into his tent, which was bigger than mine, I noticed, and I stopped outside it. I put my hand on the pole, trying to go in, trying to move my feet.

Right when I was about to turn away, Zuko stepped out of the tent, his eyes wide as he looked at me. He couldn't draw a breath. "Emiko, I..."

I shook my head and gently nudged him backwards. He complied, his eyes questioning. "Just...let me talk."

Zuko nodded, throwing his hands out wide. He sat down on the bench and nodded for me to do as I'd asked him. "Tell me what you need to."

Staying by the door flap seemed the best. I could leave when I needed to. I could run and never look back. _Actually, that's sounding pretty good right now._

No, no! I had to stay. I had to say... "I was pregnant."

It took him a moment to answer. He nodded for a moment, his eyes deep and thoughtful. One hand wiped over his face. "'Was.'"

I swallowed the big knot in my throat. It was so hard to say all of this. Images, feelings ran through my mind, making my knees weak. I had to stay strong, though. I had to keep everything straight or I wouldn't be able to tell him. So, I nodded. "I lost him...her...I don't know, I wasn't close enough for Doc to know what it was. I lost it during the Day of Black Sun."

Zuko motioned me over, and somehow I complied. Still sitting down, he pulled me between his legs, his hands on my hips. His eyes were focused on my stomach. "How far were you along?"

"Four months? Five?"

His breathing was ragged. I'd never seen Zuko cry before, but then again, I'd never seen him with such a look of sadness. He'd been desperate, yes, but never this agonized. "We had a _child_..."

"There was plenty of chance for one," I said, a little bitterly, trying to pull away from his hands. He wouldn't let me. I narrowed my eyes. "Let me go."

He shook his head and leaned his forehead down onto my stomach. Shocked, I couldn't help but run my fingers through his hair. "I've let you go too many times. I don't want to lose you, or another baby..."

_There won't be another one. _That I was sure of.

When he was near me, I couldn't breathe correctly. My heart was erratic and I could never think straight. I didn't know if it was just my attraction or the fact that I loved this man...even when I had to distance myself from him. "You'll have to let me go again, Zuko. I...I'm not sure what I feel right now."

"_What?_" he asked in a voice that left no imagination that he was confused, upset, and agonized. "You just told me that you lost our baby and now you want me to stay away from you? Emiko, I want to help."

"You can help by letting me think. All I see is us. I can never think of anything unless it involves us. Right now, Aang needs me. He needs _you._ But he can't need both of us together. I'm just confused. Helping him is my top priority."

Zuko's topaz eyes were looking straight to mine as he stood up. His hands placed themselves on my face, his thumbs gently brushing against my cheeks. "Emiko, I..."

_It hurts. Agni, it hurts to push him away. _"I need to think straight. When I'm with you, all I see is us, together, or you, with Katara..."

"_Katara?_" he asked incredulously, dropping his hands suddenly. He ran one hand through his hair. "_That's _what this is about?"

I couldn't help the sarcastic laugh that exited my throat. "Keep throwing yourself at her, Zuko, and maybe she'll fall into your bed, too."

He looked completely flabbergasted. I was too hurt to understand what it meant. "Emiko. There is nothing going on between Katara and me."

"She's the one who caught you as Azula got away."

_Zuko suddenly fell, his scream caught on the wind. He and Azula were falling, falling, trying to catch onto something, both of them failing. "ZUKO!"_

The flashback died away. I was still staring at Zuko's chest, trying not to meet his eyes. "You saved her from the falling rocks, from a million things when you left me with Ryuu. To the _Abyss_, Zuko, it's the little things. The laughing, the moony eyes." I shook my head and stepped away, trying to get out of his bubble of confusion. "I'm not sure how I feel."

Suddenly I was pulled to his body. He held onto me with one arm and used the other hand to pull my chin up so our lips touched. It was rough, burning with need as he used a subtle pressure with his thumb and forefinger on my chin to open my mouth to him. And he kissed me with a passion that made me want to throw up.

"I just said I was _confused_!" I shouted, pushing him back again. I wiped my lips vigorously with my right arm, trying to get the taste of him off of me. "What in those words said that I wanted you to _kiss _me?"

He looked away and mopped his face with his hand. "Emiko, you wouldn't listen."

"So?"

Zuko grabbed my arms and pulled me back to him. "There is _nothing_ going on between Katara and me, do you understand?"

"I understand that you are going off with her tonight, trying to find the man who killed her mother." His eyes widened slightly. He couldn't hide this from me. "That's right. I heard you talking to Sokka. Just...go help her. Kill her ghosts. I'll be here, but I won't be with you, Zuko. Losing our child...I've just, I've got to think."

I leaned up to kiss him on the jaw. His slight stubble burned my cheek as I turned and walked out the tent flap.

**o-o-o**

Katara stormed through camp the next morning, Zuko following directly behind. She was obviously set for a rampage. She walked past Sokka—who was carving something—towards Aang and Appa. Aang was feeding handfuls of hay to the beast, smiling and petting its head.

"I need to borrow Appa," Katara said simply, making me turn from making breakfast. It was about burned anyways. No sense in making it taste good on my account.

"Why?" Aang asked with a chuckle. "Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?" The sad part was that he didn't know the irony. I also didn't care for that wording.

Katara raised an eyebrow. For some reason, this put a slight edge in me. I had to take a deep breath to keep from saying something I'd regret. "Yes," she answered seriously, "it is."

Aang froze and smiled sheepishly, turning towards them. "O-oh."

"I understand why," I said softly, not moving from my position, "but is there really a point in your leaving? We should really stick together."

"You obviously don't understand why, then," she said, glaring angrily at me. "Zuko and I are going to find the man who took my mother away from me." _Deep breaths, Emiko. Deep breaths._

"Sokka told me the story," Zuko explained, gesturing with his hand. "I know who did it, and I know how to find him."

Sokka, his face contorted in what looked like surprise and embarrassment, looked up with astonishment and hurt before dropping his carving and standing up. His lanky body seemed more tense than usual, and I was sure that the giant bruise on his face didn't help any. I flinched at seeing it.

"You know where the Southern Raiders are?" Sokka asked, his face filled with..._hope? Sokka, not you too._

I then remembered a time when my father had been deployed. He'd been gone months before coming back, giving me a hug and my mother a kiss, saying how great it was to be back in warmer whether. We were never moving south, apparently. I had a bad feeling that this had been one of my father's missions.

"_What_ exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Aang asked, his 'Avatar-Guru' face enabled. He was trying to diffuse the situation. Obviously it wasn't working.

Katara smiled humorously and shook her head. She turned away. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

The Avatar held up his hands and tried to reason with her. "Wait, I _do _understand. "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage." He put a hand to his heart. "How do you think I felt about the Sandbenders when they took Appa? How do you think I felt about the Firebenders when I found out about my people?"

"I think we all understand," I mumbled, leaning against Appa's side and petting him. I didn't want to get involved in this. I also didn't want to see Zuko leave with her on some extended trip.

"She _needs _this, Aang," Zuko said as he threw a bag over his shoulder. "This is about getting closure and justice."

I shook my head. "No, it's about getting revenge."

"_Fine_," Katara growled, her back still turned. "Maybe it is. Maybe that's what I _need_." She took a pause before her head turned and I saw the evil look on her face. "Maybe that's what he _deserves_."

"Katara, you sound like Jet," Aang accused lowly, his eyes narrowed. Obviously there was some bad blood between these people and Jet. I agreed that she was starting to sound like my old...well, he obviously wasn't a friend anymore. My old colleague.

"It's not the same," she defended, growling yet again as she turned her whole body around. "Jet attacked the innocent. This man…he's a _monster_."

I thanked the gods that Sokka stepped forward. If anyone could talk to her, then it was him. "Katara, she was my mother too. But…I think Aang might be right."

"Then you didn't love her the way I did!"

"Katara…!" I saw the hurt bloom on his face. It made me angry just thinking about how she treated him. He was a damned good older brother, and she was accusing him of not loving their mother?

She turned away partially, and Aang took this as a time to look down and say, "The Monks always used to say, 'Revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

"That's cute," Zuko mocked angrily, "but this isn't Air Temple preschool. It's the real world."

Katara looked away. "Now that I know he's out there…now that I know we can find him, I know that I have no choice."

Aang tried to step up again for one last shot. "You _do _have a choice: forgiveness."

Zuko stepped forward, too. "That's the same as doing _nothing_!"

"No it's not!" I shouted at him, slapping down the hand he used to gesture with. "It's easy to do nothing. But it's hard to forgive." _Just like I won't forgive you if you do this, Zuko._

"It's not just hard…" Katara mumbled, her eyes to the ground with hair waving in the wind. "It's impossible."

**o-o-o**

I woke up that night to hear rustling in the tent next to me. Angrily shifting to wake up, I opened the curtain to my tent and saw Katara putting on a black outfit—it covered her very well. I almost couldn't tell that she was even female.

"So…you're still leaving?" I asked, startling her from tying in her hair up in a ponytail.

"Yes."

"Huh…" I wasn't sure what to say to calm her down. She hadn't listened to any of us that morning, why then, when I was still half-asleep and in my pajamas? "So you're going to make Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Suki think you're a liar?"

She threw down her arms, letting her hair fly free. "I'm not lying."

"So taking Appa after they told you not to isn't lying."

"Don't try to turn this around," she growled, throwing something into a sack and flinging it up on the bison. "Why do _you_ care, anyways?"

I leaned against the pole of my tent and shook my head. "Because I've wanted revenge before, too."

She snorted and shook her head as well. "Sure you did."

"No, I'm serious."

"Against who, Zuko?" she asked teasingly, her hands on her hips. "And let me guess, you had to kiss him back for giving you CPR."

I smirked angrily, looking away. "Is that all you think about is me and Zuko? If you don't learn to mind your own business, then more people like the Pirates will be after _you_ for revenge."

"Stealing the scroll was for the sake of Aang."

"And revenge is for the sake of you, right?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Do you want to know who I wanted revenge on, or are we going to argue all night? The faster you hear me out, the faster you can leave or get back to sleep."

"Go for it." I didn't think it would really work, seeing as how she was already working on throwing the rest of her things on Appa, but hey, it was worth a shot.

"I wanted revenge on the person who started the fire that killed _my_ mother."

She froze and dropped the thing in her hands. Then she hurried and scooped up the provisions she had dropped, throwing them onto Appa. "Wh-what?"

"Remember?" I asked nonchalantly, looking at my fingernails. "Your mother wasn't the only one who was killed."

Katara looked down, ashamed. "Did you ever avenge her…?" she asked quietly.

"No. And do you want to know why?" I asked, just as soft with my voice. She nodded, and I sighed. "Because _I'm_ the one who killed my mother."

The Water Tribe girl's face turned to pity, which is exactly the _opposite_ of what I wanted at that moment. And then there was also horror deep in there, and she almost seemed to flinch away. "You…"

"Yeah, I committed patricide," I told her, throwing my hands up in the air. "And after that, there were many times that I thought of _suicide_. Because with the way I thought about it, if I wasn't here, then my mother would be." When she didn't say anything, I figured that my work was done and I went back into my tent where Zuko was waiting. "Great. You're the last person I needed to see."

"I heard what you said to Katara."

"So?"

"So I think you were wrong in doing so."

"And what makes you think that I'm going to listen to you?" I asked, laying back down on my pallet and turning away from him.

"Because we need to _talk_."

"I don't want to talk."

"Emiko…" He put a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it away. "Just talk to me!"

"No. Go away."

And I guess he must have, because the next thing I knew, Aang and Sokka were questioning Katara and Zuko outside. "So you were just going to take Appa anyways?" Aang's angry voice asked.

"Yup."

**o-o-o**

The next morning, I was already sitting outside next to a blazing white fire when Aang and Sokka came out of their tents. Silently, they sat next to me on either side and started stoking the fire.

"So…" Sokka drawled, leaning back on one arm. "I uh…heard you trying to talk Katara out of leaving."

"Oh?" I asked nonchalantly as I boiled a pot of soup over the top of the fire. I tried to act like I didn't care, but I wanted to know that they didn't blame me for something I did when I was a child.

"Me too," Aang added, nervously messing with his glider staff and tracing the arrow on his hand.

"And?" _Here it comes..._

"And…" Aang drawled as he nudged Sokka in the side to say something, "I'm glad you _did _try to stop her."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" I asked as small smile spread across my face. "Well, just so you know—" Before I could finish my sentence, I was caught up in a hug from the two boys. "Wh…what?"

They tightened their arms around me and put their heads on my shoulders.

"You have too much guilt built up inside you," Aang mumbled. "I've always said that giving someone a hug is like squeezing all of the bad out of them."

Sokka chuckled. "That's not what I say, but I'll go along with it." He got a stern look from Aang, so Sokka said, "But I guess what I should say is that before, I was too hard on you."

"_I'm_ the one who punched _you_," I said finally, after the initial shock was gone. "Forgiven and forgotten."

They pulled back, but Aang still took a hold of my hand. "Now you need to forgive yourself."

What was with these kids trying to give me life lessons? "But—"

"Now I never said that you had to forget. Just forgive."

_That's a lot harder than you think, Avatar. I have a lot of skeletons in my closet and a lot of ghosts in my past._

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**Plot bunnies, thank you for making me sit down an entire day and write eight pages.**


	33. The Ember Island Players

**The fact that I am uploading on time AGAIN is very strange indeed. I must investigate this further.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Duh?**

* * *

**The Ember Island Players**

Ember Island held a lot of memories for me. Mostly it was the waves of the water as my mother and I sat in the sand, far away from it. I remembered my father, trying to convince her to join him, but she never would. He knew better than to make her go anywhere near water.

Ryuu, Jasmine, and our father would run through the water, kicking up foam and catching minnow-turtles that were big enough to fit in their hands. Mother and I had made plenty of glass castles out of the sand, making the beach shiny and beautiful in a strange, eerie sort of way.

The town hadn't changed much. The main street, so close to the ocean, was crowded with stalls and booths and stores of bright foods, clothes, and everything you could imagine buying. The outlying suburbs were filled with Admirals, aspiring military leaders, the rich, and then there were the family houses a little further out. I walked down that one suburb, stopping at the house I knew best.

Ryuu, walking beside me, looked up at the red clay walls of the squat, familial home. It had white accents on the shutters and flower boxes hanging from the white windows. The large, carved white door had a mat of ash at the front. "It looks...the _same_," he said softly, barely a whisper. We didn't want to ruin this moment.

I wished that I remembered more of it with our mother present. "Yeah."

"You see that, Adena?" Ryuu asked his Firebending daughter, who was hanging in a pouch on his back. "This is where I lived when I was your age."

Adena just blinked her Fire Nation eyes and then burped, singing her father's hair. I gave a tense but sad smile and turned, continuing to walk down the familiar streets.

I didn't stop walking until I saw the blank patch of ground in the middle of the main street. While everything around it was bright and colorful and crowded, there was one spot, about the size of a general store, that was completely blank. The grass was still black from the fire all those years ago.

"Ryuu," I said softly, gaining the attention of my older brother. His eyes looked questioning, but he didn't voice what he was thinking. "This is where I killed Mom."

**o~o~o**

"He's gone," I said as we walked into the room where we would watch the Ember Island Players perform. I'd seen the poster for the group, brought it back, and discovered that Sokka was determined to go.

"What do you mean, 'he's gone'?" Katara asked, her one eyebrow raised just to seem to annoy me. "Naomi, too? The babies? Where did they _go_?"

The room was large. We were in the very back seated on a balcony, and from what I could see there were three rows of balconies below us. All along the walls were more of these little outcroppings. Hundreds of seats filled the floor of the room, on an inclined floor that led down to the stage, which was hidden by a giant red curtain.

"I mean he's _gone._ He left. We had a long conversation about our mother, and then he left, alright? It's a family matter." That seemed to strike a chord in her, like she finally understood. _It's about time._ I was starting to wonder if she was always that nosy, or if it was just when I was around.

We took our seats. Toph sat on the edge, and I sat next to her. Sokka then took the seat next to me. I knew that his commentating would be the best part about what I was sure would be an entirely _awful_ production. My mother had taken me only once to see something about dragons. She never took me again. I wasn't even sure that we'd stayed the entire show.

"Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section?" Toph asked, trying to get comfortable on the wooden seat. She crossed her arms in anger and a pout of the same emotion appeared on her face. "My feet can't see a _thing_ from up here!"

"Don't worry," I told her, taking her hand, squeezing it, and smiling. "I'll tell your feet what's happening."

Suddenly, the lights dimmed down and the curtain opened. Behind it was a snowy scene, waves moving up and down. On top of the waves was a canoe, and in it were a scrawny man and a fat woman in Water Tribe clothing. I laughed when I figured out that the man was Sokka and the cleavage woman was Katara.

_Katara? Cleavage?_ my brain asked me. _Yeah right. _Okay, so maybe I was still a little sore about Zuko choosing her over me.

Katara smiled at the two paddlers, and Sokka put a hand on her shoulder. He pointed back and forth at the actors and he and his sister, overexcited about the fact that they were on stage.

The Actress Katara sighed. "Sokka, my only brother, we _constantly_ roam these icy southern seas, but never do we find anything…_fulfilling_." All of this was greeted with way outplayed gestures and horrible emotion. And now I could see that her face was full of ghastly makeup.

"All I want is a full feeling in my stomach," actor Sokka said in an annoying high-pitched voice. "I'm starving!"

The audience laughed, while Katara and Sokka gave each other quixotic looks. I had to keep from laughing by biting my lip. If this horrible acting kept up, I'd have to look away from the stage.

Actress Katara was peeved. "Is food the only thing on your mind?"

"Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind…and into my mouth. I'm starving!"

Sokka leaned forwards, disgusted. "This is pathetic! My jokes are _way _funnier than this!"

Toph laughed softly, trying to keep it quiet so she wouldn't attract attention. "I think he's got you _pegged_!"

"Everyday," Actress Katara said, standing up in the canoe, "the world awaits a beacon to guide us. Yet, none appears. Still, we cannot give up hope! For hope,"—she sniffled—"is all we _have_." The horrible actress fell down on her knees and started crying. And must I say, it grinded at my ears. "And, we must never relinquish it, even to our dying breath!" The crying tripled. I cringed.

"Well that's just silly," the real Katara mumbled angrily while Suki, Sokka, Toph, and I were cracking up with laughter. "I don't sound like that!"

Toph giggled and put her hands behind her head, smiling. "Oh man, this writer's a _genius_!"

Suddenly, a bright light shone over Actors Katara and Sokka. Behind them came a giant iceberg with a cutout cardboard shadow of a guy behind it sitting cross-legged, swinging back and forth. On the forehead of the cutout was an arrow.

"It appears to be someone frozen in ice," Actress Katara stated as she looked at it. "Perhaps for a hundred years!"

"But who?" Actor Sokka asked. "Who is the Boy in the Iceberg?"

Aang leaned forwards expectantly.

The actors on stage climbed up on it. Actress Katara lifted her hand in the air and screamed, "Waterbend, high-YA!" and she brought her hand down on it in a karate chop.

The iceberg cracked like an egg and opened up with steam. And, out jumped Actor Aang…as a woman.

Aang's eyes widened at this sight.

"Who are you, frozen boy?" Actress Katara asked.

The girl who played Aang laughed and stood on one foot. "Tee-hee, I'm the Avatar, silly, here to spread joy and fun!"

"Wait, is that a _woman_ playing me?" Aang cried, staring without believing.

I chuckled. "Hey, Aang, you make a pretty girl."

Lets just say that things got much, much worse. The Actor who played Uncle was fat and had too much beard that was much too pointy. Zuko's Actor had his scar on the wrong side of his face, but his acting was spot on. There were scenes about the Gaang finding Momo, (who talked, apparently,) and the time when they all met the Kyoshi warriors. I noticed that Sokka looked slightly depressed at that point. I made a note to ask about it later.

I was about to fall asleep from boredom of sheer stupidity when Aang elbowed me in the side. Aang pointed down to the action, and I watched in horror as my character fell onto stage. She was in what looked like a tattered bra with a little bit of material hanging down for effect, and a loincloth. She had red hair that was way overly dyed, and I cringed.

Her skin was just as pale as mine was, but she seemed much skinnier. And taller. Which completely wasn't me. And she was incredibly fit, and I wondered if this was really the way people saw me or if someone was drunk when they took this mental image. The girl was taller than Zuko's Actor!

"Come and face me, Earthbenders!" Actress Me yelled, her hair splayed in front of her face in tangles so that you couldn't see it. "I know you're there! I can sense you, damn it, I'm not an idiot like you!"

I blushed when everyone looked to me, but then they turned their heads back to the stage when an Earth Kingdom soldier walked out onto the stage. "I hereby take you in the name of the Earth King and the Earth Kingdom! Surrender now and we will go easy on you."

My character didn't answer, only opened her arms in some kind of Firebending move. I leaned forwards to see if they would make this part correct, and, unbelieving, the "fire" that came from her hands (it was some kind of streamer) was white. Or…close enough.

"Good Spirits, it's _pink_!" I whispered/screamed, getting a chuckle from everyone around me. _They made my Firebening pink!_

The Earthbender stomped the ground, making a rock that was suspended by rope come from the ground. He punched it forwards, sending it cutting into her side and sprawling her onto the ground. More Earthbenders entered to pick Actress Me up and put her on an ostrich horse.

"That's so not what happened...was it?" I asked softly, trying to remember that day. I'd just run from my father. It was hard to tell what was up and down, let alone what had happened between the attack and when I'd been dropped into Zuko's lap.

I saw Zuko smirk from the corner of my eye. "I don't remember you being that clothesless, but yes, that was what happened."

The furious blush on my cheeks only added to my anger. I looked back up to see my character on a poor excuse for an ostrich-horse. A loin-clothed Iroh was there as well.

"Wh…where am I?" Actress me asked in a harsh voice.

"You're in custody of the Earth Kingdom, _girl_.

She swayed on the Ostrich horse that was moving very slowly across the stage. "I don't…I don't feel too good…"

"And good riddance," one of the others sneered, glaring at me from his own ostrich-horse. His eye had a fresh scar running up it, and it looked kind of real.

"By chance," Actor Iroh said as he eyed Actress Me, "did you know that your other captive is injured?"

The Captain just laughed. "She put up a fight, unlike you."

"Where are you taking me?" Actress Me asked with sass.

The Captain rolled his eyes and turned away, ignoring her completely. "We're taking you to face justice."

"But _where_, Earthbender?" she asked dryly, closing my eyes and slightly leaning against the Captain.

He shrugged her away and shook his head. "I would hope that a Firebender would know of such a place. It's a place where The Dragon of the West laid siege to for six hundred days. But we wouldn't _yield _to _you_."

"Ba Sing Se," she replied almost unconsciously.

"It was greater than you were, apparently," he said, nodding towards Actor Iroh.

Actor Iroh acted offended, and his acting was terrible, like most of the others. "I acknowledge my defeat at Ba Sing Se! After six hundred days away from home, my men were tired…and I was tired…and I'm _still_ tired." Uncle yawned and fell off the Ostrich-Horse.

He didn't move.

Everyone in the audience laughed at this, making a hot blush of anger rise in my cheeks. Toph noticed and sent a hard elbow into my stomach. "Cool it, Hothead."

I sighed bitterly and let a little steam come from my nose. It made a literal statement of _'Letting off steam.'_

The actors picked him up and carried him back to the ostrich horse.

"Men!" the Captain scolded while they were singing a song of glory and triumph.. "This is not about honor. This is about bringing two more of the Fire Nation to justice!"

And then it all went to the Abyss.

But suddenly another man jumped onto the stage, and he Firebended out of his hands in a crazy, wild way that made all of the Earthbenders fall off of their horses and scatter. "I'm here to save you, Uncle!"

My character stood up as Actor Zuko karate chopped her and Actor Iroh's handcuffs in a dramatic way. "My hero!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.

I was about ready to puke at this moment. "Good Spirits, who in the Spirit World wrote this pile of garbage?" Toph giggled at me, and Zuko smiled cockily.

Actor Zuko pushed the hair out of her face and turned it towards the audience. "Don't hide your face, beautiful. Show your radiance to the world!"

Maybe that radiance was too much for that world, because everyone gasped. My face turned hopeful for the first time in that scene, because…

They made me beautiful. They didn't ruin my character like the others. My face was the softest thing I'd ever seen. All of this made the others, who had their characters ruined, groan. High cheekbones and forehead, delicate eyebrows and large eyes and lips that begged to be kissed.

Of course, I described them perfectly when the next second Actor Zuko dipped Actress me and kissed her fully.

My face fell, and I was sure my face was paler than it could already get. Zuko's face was probably smug at that moment, but I didn't dare turn to look at him. Was that a bug in my stomach? It sure felt like it. And a pretty nasty one too, because I felt ready to spill what little dinner I had gotten to eat.

**o~o~o**

Offstage, a man wobbled a metal sheet around to make the sound of thunder. Actress Aang was being tied to a raised dragon platform with Fire Nation guards at the bottom.

"The Avatar is mine!" Actor Zuko cried as he looked to the side and pointed. "Wait, who's coming?"

I looked to the side of the stage as a spotlight shined on an actor wearing a large tiki Blue Spirit mask that covered his whole body. A choke of laughter came from my throat, and I tried to keep it under control. "I am the Blue Spirit!" he cried, clashing his broadswords together. "The scourge of the Fire Nation here to save the Avatar!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Actor Zuko shouted to it. But before he could do anything, another mask came out. This one was actually a person, though, with the mask only on her head. And…it was me again. _Again_.

She fought with a disturbingly small sword, and when she trapped the man at the corner of the dragon pedestal, she leaned down and kissed his lips. Then she traipsed off, a confused Actor Zuko staring off.

The real Aang seemed confused. "I don't recall that happening."

"How would you know?" Sokka asked, his eyes wide as he stared at the stage. The "Blue Spirit" was waving his swords about, making the guards behind him fall to the ground in defeat. "You weren't there."

"Oh. Right." I gave Aang a quixotic look, and he gave me a sheepish one back. So apparently the boy hadn't told his friends where he had been that day. Oh well. I'd never really told Zuko what happened that day, either.

Actor Zuko ran behind the dragon platform. The "Blue Spirit" continued walking on and waved his swords about, and the remaining guards dropped down. Actor Zuko appeared from the other side of the platform and threw a red streamer-"Firebending"-at the Blue Spirit's feet and the Blue Spirit jumped to avoid the "fire". The Blue Spirit thrust his sword out as Actor Zuko ran offstage.

Actress Aang jumped off the platform and sat on top of the tiki mask, saying, "My hero!" The "Blue Spirit" walked offstage now, making the real Aang and Zuko look at each other with completely dumbstruck expressions.

**o~o~o**

Now was a backdrop that I recognized. It was the Freedom Fighter's hide out! And at that moment, Actress Katara and Actor Jet-who had a rose in his mouth and a heavily exaggerated hairstyle-were lowered onto a platform from a rope.

My heart ached as I clenched my eyes shut and wanted to turn away. But I couldn't. I missed Jet so horribly. He had been my older brother when I really had none. He had been like a father in some ways too.

Actress Katara mock sobbed out loud, bringing me out of my moment of self pity.

"Don't cry, baby," Actor Jet said as he held Actress Katara close to him. "Jet will wipe out that nasty town for you." He pointed to the stage as if it were the village. He tipped her chin up as a stagehand in black pulled a large blue sheet of cloth that I guessed symbolized water across the stage.

The platform raised, and Actress Katara said, sultrily, "Oh Jet, you're _so bad_."

The real Katara held her head in embarrassment while everyone but me laughed at her. I couldn't, not when I knew that in life Jet _had_ been a big flirt. And, knowing him, he would've probably liked Katara.

**o~o~o**

Snow fell, probably from a sack of flakes that a stagehand was holding above stage. Below, where the snow was falling, was a bridge with a wave symbol on it. Actor Sokka, and now Actress Yue, were standing at the center of it. She had an overly large and exaggerated white hair wig and was wearing pink instead of white.

"Don't go, Yue," Actor Sokka begged, grasping her hands in his. "You're the only woman whose ever taken my mind off of food!" They kissed audibly, but soon he gagged and pulled away, sticking his tongue out. "Wait, did you have pickled fish for dinner?"

"Goodbye, Sokka." She rose slowly and their hands parted. "I have important Moon duties to take care of." Now she was sitting on a crescent Moon prop as it slowly got pulled up. The train of her skirt as so long that it trailed quite a few feet below the Moon prop. "And yes, I did have pickled fish."

He raised his arms to the departing Yue.

The real Sokka in real life was on the verge of tears. His mouth quivered.

I reached behind me and grasped his hand in mine. His fingers intertwined with mine and I instantly felt him get a little stronger. I remembered the pain he'd been in back then. I'd watched the Moon Spirit die and then come back to life. It'd been a scary thing, so I was there for him

**o~o~o**

Fire Nation boats were being dragged across the stage. A foot kicked the cut outs aside, and a doll of Zhao was in the hand of the Ocean Spirit. Actress Aang was under a large Ocean Spirit costume. I felt Sokka squeeze my hand. The other one went over my mouth.

Actress Aang laughed cruelly, squeezing the Zhao doll. "The Avatar is back to save the day! Yay!"

My Actress came out in a leap and a bound, red contacts in her eyes. "Haha, I have defeated my father!"

I gasped, and tears accumulated in my eyes. That…couldn't be right. I_t didn't happen like that, did it? _ As my mind raced over the entire, damned subject, she proceeded to kick another ship cut out away. She stomped around and destroyed the remaining ships and fell flat on her stomach.

My mind was completely strangled, my heart caught in my throat. I couldn't even remember that day. My thoughts of that event had been completely erased—as much as I could block them out, anyways.

The curtain was lowered. And that was my cue to leave. Or, as I later thought of it, I guess it was my cue to run away.

**Toph**

"Emiko…" Zuko sighed, putting a hand to his head and shaking it. "I'm going to go after her."

"No, I'll do it," Toph said, kicking at the stairs they were sitting on for something to do. "She needs a girl's point of view."

Katara looked like she wanted to go as well, but really all Toph needed was to talk to the girl. She always listened to her. Well, almost. So she pushed up off of the wall and walked around the walkways outside of the stage area.

She found the girl with her back against a pillar, her head tilted upwards as tears stained her face. "What are you doing here, Toph?" she asked softly, not looking in her direction.

_Hmph. I'm losing my touch._ "How'd you know it was me?"

Still, Emiko didn't look at her best friend. "I recognize your footfalls. And I knew by the comfortable silence that it was you."

Toph smiled softly, placing a hand on her arm. She was instantly uncomfortable with the heat, but she still had to comfort her friend. "Hey, buck up, Red. It's only a story. Heck, I'm probably not even in it!"

She turned bright yellow gaze on the girl. "Yeah, but it happens to be a story that _actually happened._" "…Well, I guess not all of it was all that factual…"

Toph snorted in laughter. "You can say that again." She thought of the kiss that they had staged and the _'Don't hide your beauty,'_ bit.

"_Definitely_ not all of it was true." She sighed in bitter disgust. "Is that what they thought of me? Some kind of whore that went around kissing whoever she wanted?"

"And wearing a _loincloth_?" Toph asked incredulously, trying to cheer her friend up. "Oh, and I know they call you Red, but that hair was _incredible!_ I can't believe you're beating yourself up over those lies!"

She smiled softly, shaking her head. "I don't care about that stuff. I'm surprised, yeah, but…" Her face turned to complete and utter sorrow. "…That…part. At the Northern Water Tribe…"

Toph's smile turned to a frown. "I know. Believe me, the second your character came out and said that, I knew it wasn't true, Red. You couldn't do that."

"…I'm not so sure."

"You _wouldn't_ do that."

"I don't remember…that time clearly."

"Emiko, _you wouldn't do that_."

"Toph—!" she shouted, starting to stand up. Toph gave her a glare and she sat back down, sighing once more. "I'm sorry, Toph. You go on. People are starting to go back in."

"I'm not going without you." She was ticked at her friend for yelling at her.

"Then it looks like you won't be going." A small, sadistic smile appeared on her face. "But I do hope you know that your part will be coming up soon."

Her eyes widened. "It will, won't it?"

"Your time to shine."

"Hell yeah it'll be my time to shine!"

"And all I'll get to see is Zuko leaving me again." She shrugged as if it were no big deal, but on the inside Toph knew that the girl was having a breakdown of the century. "I'd really rather not stay for _Part Two of Three_."

Toph sighed. "Man, you really can be a downer, Red. Think about it, you don't know how the Gaang and I met! Or the time I almost drowned, or when Sokka and Suki got back together!"

She had that angry glint back in her eyes, and Toph knew that she lost her. "I'm not going back. I'm gonna stay out here. I don't need to see what I already know."

Sighing in defeat, Toph mumbled, "Whatever, Emiko. But…don't wander off, okay? I still need you around to kick these hobos into place."

Emiko gave her a small smile. "I know, Toph. I'm not going anywhere. Maybe the concession stand, or the bathroom, but I'll know where you guys are." A glint appeared in her bright yellow eyes. "I have a certain knack at spying."

**o~o~o**

"Where's Emiko?" Sokka asked when Toph came back alone.

She shrugged and led her way back up to the balcony seat. "Knowing Emm? Sulking. Again. Like usual." She plopped down in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm tired of trying to talk sense into her."

Sokka looked like he wanted to pull out what little hair he had. "You were supposed to talk to her so you _could_ talk sense into her!"

Toph turned her angry glare onto him, and Zuko behind him who looked like he was about to explode from anger. "Look, Snoozles, I did what I could. I'm her best friend, and if she doesn't want to listen to me, then there's really nothing I can do about it!"

Zuko's fists were so tight that his knuckles where white. "I'm going to talk to her."

And there was no way that was going to happen. "You're the _last_ person she wants to see, believe me."

"_What_?" he asked, turning his head to the side and gritting his teeth. Toph vaguely wondered if this was what Zuko was like before he joined up with the Gaang, or if this was a lowered version. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Toph looked through him with a wry feeling. "If you have to ask me that, you really are clueless."

**Emiko**

_Coward_.

_Chicken._

_Baby._

_Yellow-belly._

_Liver-lill—_

"Alright, I get it," I mumbled, rubbing my head irately. I felt like a complete and utter bitch, having spoken to Toph like that. She deserved so much more for trying to help me. And I just totally blew her off.

Sighing, I pushed up off of my pillar and stretched. "Might as well go and apologize." _But I'm __**not**__ sitting next to Zuko._

_Never said you had to._

_Good_.

I pushed open the door to look onto a scene of the crystal catacombs in Ba Sing Se. There were Actress Katara and Actor Zuko on stage, both sitting on a crystal prop with their legs crossed.

"I have to admit, Prince Zuko," the Actress said as she came up provocatively, "I really find you attractive."

My back stiffened, and I didn't take another step into the room. No one saw me yet. _I could leave and no one would notice. I should walk out __**right now**__. I should leave so that I don't torture myself with this. _

"You _don't_ have to make fun of me." The Actor glared at her.

She cringed at his harshness. "But I mean it." She walked over and sat down beside him. "I had eyes for you ever since you first captured me."

The real Katara and Zuko looked at each other awkwardly, and Aang frowned. I was frowning quite a bit myself.

Actor Zuko stood up. "Wait. I thought you were the _Avatar's girl_."

Aang nodded, I noticed, and I found myself doing that as well. Katara and Aang…I hadn't know a time that they _weren't_ together. Maybe it was just the little green monster inside of me, but it hurt to think otherwise.

The Actress stood up. "The _Avatar…_" She walked towards Actor Zuko. "Why, he's like a little brother to me." She laughed. "I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way. Besides, how could he ever find out about this?"

They held each other's hands in an embrace. And I wanted to throw up. Aang got up at this moment, probably to do what I wanted to do, but Sokka caught his arm. "Oh. You're getting up. Can you get me some Fire Flakes?" When Aang just looked upset, Sokka said, "Just sit down. I'll get them. What do you want? Nothing? Oh well, more for me!"

Aang looked at him irately, but the Water Tribe warrior didn't notice. I tried to move out of the way before he saw me, but I didn't quite make it. Sokka gave me a confused look, so I looked away before he could see the tears in my eyes. He gently took my hand and led me outside to where I could barely keep my legs from collapsing from under me.

Suddenly, out on the balcony, I turned and wrapped my arms around Sokka. He'd been such a good friend to me. I needed his company and comfort. I didn't know what to feel about Katara and Zuko. I didn't know what to feel about _anything._ All I knew was that Sokka had been there for me if he knew it or not, and I needed him then. Right then.

**Sokka**

Sokka held Emiko close to his chest, gently rubbing circles on her back. She finally wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head there. She was warm and soft and smelled like that fire again, the one that reminded him of home. Holding her felt wrong, but it felt so _right._

When he had first met her, he thought that she was this all-powerful woman who could destroy whatever she wanted and still feel as tall as she could be. (No matter how short she was.) But now he knew that she wasn't that woman. She was just a girl, a scared girl, who now had her heart broken. He knew how that felt.

Her shuddering started to decrease, and she looked up to him through a wall of tears. "…Th-thank you, Sokka."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back beautifully. "Its no problem. I know how you feel."

She looked away, pulling her arms from around his neck. He swore he saw some blush creep up her cheeks, but she tried to hide it well. "Suki? Yue?" she whispered as she used the palm of her hand to wipe away her tears.

Sokka gently reached forwards and wiped a tear that she missed with his thumb. It hurt to hear those names, but the pain was starting to decrease with every passing day. _I couldn't find Suki. I couldn't save Yue. But I can help Emiko._ "Don't be so down on yourself." Her cheek was warm, and he saw the red tint to her face. "You're stronger than that."

She sniffed and straightened her back, setting her jaw. "You're right. Not all of this is about me." Her big yellow eyes were sorrowful as she set them on his face. "I…I'm sorry. About…"

He stopped her by holding up a hand. "I know." And this was when he finally noticed that his arm was still around her waist. "You…don't have to say it." He pulled his arm away, watching as the blush crept up her cheeks again.

Now was when he stood up, and she looked like she was a small child, one who had been left behind during the war. He'd seen plenty of them, and he reached down to take her hand once more. He pulled her up to her feet, and she wrapped her arms around his neck quickly and pulled him to her in a hug.

It was strange. She was strong, but somehow her body was still soft against his. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her to him. "I'm sorry for all that you've been through."

She smiled, to his surprise, and pulled away just slightly, her arms still around his neck, his arms still around her waist. "Sokka, any woman would be lucky to have you. If only…" She bit her lip and shook her head and looked away dejectedly. Her arms fell from his neck and she wrapped them around her waist, above his arms because he hadn't let go. "Zuko couldn't be like you. I don't know why I even had that thought."

He felt a pang to his heart. Instead of enjoying this moment with him, she was trying to compare Zuko to him! He forced a smile on his face and reached up to ruffle her hair. "You really are different than I thought you were, Emiko."

"How so?" she asked with a radiant, if not watery, smile.

"Well, when I first met you…I really thought that you were a bad guy—girl." He felt the heat in his cheeks and rubbed the back of his head.

She chuckled. "I understand what you mean. Keep going." She turned them around so that they were looking out onto the ocean, and Sokka kept one arm around her waist. She didn't seem to care about it. Actually, she looked comforted. They leaned against the railing as he continued.

"And, once I got to know you…I knew that you were just a regular person, trying to find her way in this crazy world." He smiled to her, and she smiled back, leaning onto his shoulder. "And I find that you're one of the most honest people I've ever met."

She stiffened and moved away. "No. I'm not."

He looked at her as if she told him a joke that he didn't get. "Yes, you are. You confided in me that your mother was a pirate. You can't help but apologize every time you hurt someone. Namely, me. You told me where my father was." That alone was enough to put her on his good list.

Emiko's face fell, and she wrapped her arms around her waist as if they themselves could protect her from whatever was attacking her on the inside. "…I haven't told you everything, Sokka. You don't know my past."

Sokka rolled his eyes and took her hand once more. "I don't care about your past, Emiko. All that matter is that you tell the truth _now. _You're my friend."

A look came over her face. She looked up to him with confused eyes, and a small smile appeared on her lips. She seemed to soften at that point, and her eyes glittered.

Suddenly she leaned forwards and gently kissed him. Her lips were soft as she brushed them against his, gently tilting her head and sighing in content. She pulled away just as abruptly, though, but he could see the stars of happiness in her eyes, and he could feel the butterflies riling his stomach.

Sokka was stricken. Her lips had been warm and soft, like velvet against his. She'd tasted like fire flakes with a hint of berry. _She kissed me. Emiko...kissed...me..._

The next thing he knew, he had cupped her soft face in his hands and leaned forwards to kiss her again. She relaxed against him, her hands grasping at the front of his shirt as she pulled him closer. _How soft can someone be? _he wondered, his lips parting slightly. Her breath was hot and smelled of berries as it collided with his. Her tongue gently flickered against his lower lip.

He felt as if his entire body was heating up. He tangled his fingers in her short hair and pulled her mouth fully onto his, letting his tongue venture towards her upper lip. Her tongue hesitantly met his as they searched each other's mouths, their kiss slow, passionate, and Sokka thought almost sensual.

When Sokka pulled away, Emiko was breathing heavily, her eyes lidded. Her lips were swollen slightly from being kissed thoroughly and her hair was mussed. She looked content as she stared into his eyes, smiling softly, blushing.

He opened his mouth to say something, knowing that he might end up saying something stupid. Suddenly her smile turned down and she paled drastically. Sokka looked over his shoulder, still holding Emiko, to see Zuko standing in the doorway. His arms were across his chest, his body leaning against the frame.

Sokka, suddenly feeling very protective of her, pulled Emiko behind him and glared at the man. "What do _you_ want?"

He didn't answer. He just pushed away from the door and walked away.

"Zuko," Emiko breathed, her hands alighting on Sokka's back. Her touch was just as soft as her kiss had been. "Oh, _Zuko_."

He wasn't sure how excited he was about the fact that she was worried about Zuko instead of him. "Do I need to go talk to him?" Sokka really hoped that he didn't have to. He cared for Emiko, a lot, really, but to deal with Zuko was another matter completely. This relationship was new and budding. He didn't want to do anything to ruin it.

Her face hardened into a cold determination. "No. He's my problem. I'll go get him."

The Avatar's best friend put a hand over hers quickly. "Be careful, Emiko."

She nodded seriously. "I'm used to it. Believe me, I know. He'll just need…a little time to cool off."

**Emiko**

"Will you just stop sulking like a five-year old and _listen to me_?" I screamed, grabbing Zuko by the arm and turning him around to face me. It was a mistake to look into his eyes.

They were yellow and dark and murderous. "Why should I?"

"Because you love me, damn it!" I shouted this, and I felt like a complete and utter idiot. He just caught me kissing his ex-foe, and I still thought that he loved me? I'd figured out what had happened down in the catacombs, and I still thought that he loved me?

I was a fool.

"No. I love _Katara_, remember?" he asked through his teeth, glaring at me.

More tears welled in my eyes. _He's so hurtful_. I clenched those same eyes and turned my head away. "Of course you do. You were only raping her with your eyes as you looked at her." I looked up at him through a wall of tears. But I was determined not to cry.

He grabbed my chin forcefully between his thumb and forefinger. "And you? What about you, Emiko. You weren't whoring around, oh no, not with the world's strongest _Water Tribe__ Warrior_."

I picked up my hand to slap it across his face, but he grabbed my wrist before I could do it. "Damn you!" I whispered, feeling one tear breach my exterior. "This isn't my fault, and it isn't his either!"

"Oh? You gave up on me, Emiko."

"NO!" I shouted, pulling away from his grasp. "_YOU_ gave up on _ME_!" I felt the tears cascading now, like a waterfall. My heart felt like it was breaking in two. "You gave up on me when you left me and went with Azula."

"I paid for my crimes—"

I wouldn't stop. "_You_ gave up on me when you threw my betrothal necklace into the ocean! You gave up on me when you hired that assassin. You gave up on me when you tried to leave without me, knowing you needed my help." I grasped his collar and pulled him close. "_You gave up on me when you left on that mission with Katara._"

He pushed me back and my head struck the pillar, sending fog to crowd my vision. He was instantly standing over me, his hands gripping my wrists, his face in mine when he leaned down. "I didn't leave you. _You_ left _me_, Emiko."

"What, because I didn't betray Uncle?" I asked with venom in my voice. It made him stop and flinch, his eyes wide as he stared at me. "Because I didn't stab him in the back and follow you to the Fire Nation? Because I became a spy and diminished your troops so Aang could destroy the Capital?" I pulled away bitterly, gritting my teeth. "What, Zuko? _What_?"

He pushed away with a scream of frustration and stormed off. The only thing he left me with was a, "We're _THROUGH_!"

I let one more tear slide down my cheek, and I whispered, "We've _been_ through."

**Toph**

"Hey, Sokka, have you seen Red?" Toph asked the Snoozing Wonder. "Or Zuko, for that matter?"

Sokka looked away guiltily, and Toph knew that something was wrong. He was trembling slightly, his nervous laugh coming out. Obviously he was about to tell a lie. "Nope! Haven't seen her. Or him. Neither of them."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Red just promised me that she wouldn't run off. I know this is hard for her, but…" Sighing, she put a hand on Sokka's shoulder to stop his fidgeting. "Okay, where is she?"

"She? I have no idea who you're talking about." He looked away quickly, a fake, nervous laugh coming from his fake, tense smile.

Toph wasn't laughing. "Where. Is. She."

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head dejectedly. "She's…trying to talk to Zuko." Toph's eyes widened when she felt the emotion coming from Sokka. "_Trying _being the opportune word."

Toph grit her teeth. "Not if I have anything to say about it." She pulled up her sleeves with each fist and then turned to storm off.

Sokka grabbed her arm before she got too far. "She needs to talk to him. Alone." There was a seriousness to his tone that left her wondering...

For another rare time in her life, Toph was scared. She loved Emiko like a sister, sometimes even thought of her like her own mother, and if that Hothead did anything to hurt her…

"Leave them alone, Toph," Sokka mumbled, looking down. She felt his heart lurch in his chest, and she glared at him.

"You…you _like _her!" she gasped in disgust, shaking her arm from his grasp. "I mean, _like _like her! Damn it, Snoozles, she's with Hothead!"

Sokka's internal temperature rose, signaling to Toph that he was blushing, and looked away, finally letting her go. "It's not like that."

"Isn't it? Good Spirits, when did this _happen?"_ She mopped her face with her hand and said, "Nevermind. I don't wanna know." He opened his mouth to tell her, but she said again, "I _DON'T_ wanna know."

The warrior blushed again, looking as guilty as Koh. _Does Koh even look guilty? I'm not sure I even understand that saying_. "We kissed!" he yelled quickly before his hands flew up to cover his mouth.

Toph's jaw dropped open. _He…he didn't._ There was no way that Sokka had kissed Emiko. Emiko, who was the most hard-headed girl she had ever known. Who cussed, who had _killed_ before. "You…_kissed_ her?"

He looked at her with a small smile on his face. "…Yeah. I did. And what's so bad about it?"

"What happened to Yue?" Toph asked, 'staring' at him. "Or Suki? You still haven't found her after all this time. What happened to her?"

His heart skipped a beat. "Yue...Yue is gone, and I've come to accept that fact. She would have wanted me to move on. And, as for Suki, my best bet had been The Boiling Rock. She wasn't there."

"So you go after _my best friend?_" Toph yelled, trying to keep her voice down. A small kid who was running past stopped and looked at them with a confused look. She was wearing a fake red wig and had painted her face white. But she ran off in a moment, her attention diverted.

"She's not just your best friend, she's also _my _friend, she's Aang's Firebending teacher!"

Toph threw up her hands. "That's another reason it can't work!"

Sokka sighed and ran his hands through his hair, signaling irritation and anxiety. "Look, I don't know what to feel right now. I'm...confused. I'm sure she is too. We're just going to see where this goes, alright?"

She was quiet for a moment, thinking over what Sokka had said. None of this was going to be simple anymore, not that it had been in the first place. Emiko and Zuko had a..._bond_. "He's not going to let go of Emiko so easily."

"Well he might have to. Here he comes now."

Zuko stormed down the hallway, complete and utter murder in his eyes. Emiko was nowhere to be found. Toph figured that it would take two minutes to interrogate him, or two seconds to kill him.

If he had touched her, it wasn't very hard to figure which one she would choose. Or which one Sokka would choose, for that matter.

"What's up, Hothead?" Toph asked as if she had no idea what had gone on between Sokka and Emiko. "You look like you went through the Abyss and back."

"Shut up!" he snapped, clenching his fists as he stormed up the stairs to the balcony. He hadn't even looked at Sokka, which was probably a blessing.

"Who spit in his food?" Aang asked as he poked his head out and joined them down at the bottom of the steps.

"Sokka." Toph said no more and turned to walk and find Emiko. "Let him tell you the story." She ignored the curious look she got from the Avatar and walked away with her hands in her pockets.

When she found Emiko, the girl was at the same pillar she had been at earlier. Except now she was sitting, her hands tangled in her black hair, her knees pulled up to hide her face. It looked like she was rocking back and forth.

Toph knew that the girl was hanging onto her last thread of sanity. She knew that if one more bad thing happened to the girl, then she would end up going crazy, and even more emotional than she was now.

"Go away, Toph. I can't talk to anyone right now," she whispered when Toph got close.

Toph knew what was wrong. And she wasn't going to leave, either. It would freeze over in the Fire Nation before she left her friend in that state of need. "Nope. I'm gonna sit right here and be with you."

Emiko looked at her with a puffy red face. From crying, she noticed. "What if I don't want to be with anyone right now? What if I know that I'm going to be alone all of my life, and I just want to detach myself now?"

Sighing, Toph put an arm around Emiko's shoulder and patted her arm in awkward affection. "We can go ahead and leave, if you want. I'll tell Aang and…"

She looked down in shame. "Sure. Whatever. Yeah, lets go ahead and start walking home. If its over before we're home, then they can pick us up."

Toph stood and looked down on Emiko. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Emiko looked up, and that was when Toph knew that nothing short of a miracle would make her okay. Her eyes weren't a radiant yellow anymore. They were dull and lifeless, not a sparkle of joy in them.

"Yeah," Emiko lied as she crossed her arms on her knees and put her chin there. "I'm fine."

_No you aren't_, Toph thought as she sighed and turned around. She "saw" Aang standing at the concession stand and made her way towards him. "Hey, Twinkletoes," Toph muttered, elbowing him in the side when he didn't notice her. "Me and Emm are leaving."

"What, before the grand finale?" Aang asked incredulously. "Why—?" Toph stopped him with another elbow in the side, pointing to the girl who was sitting dejectedly over at the pillar. "Oh."

"Yeah, _oh._" She bitterly grumbled under her breath at the man's ignorance. "We're leaving. Tell the others to pick us up if they see us, _if _you get done before we get to the house."

Aang gave her yet another confused look and an, "O-okay, I guess. See you at the house." And amazingly, the nosy one didn't ask anymore questions.

"Hmph," Toph huffed in surprise. "Come on, Red, we're leaving."

"About damn time I got up the courage to leave," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "This show _sucks_."

"You can say that again."

* * *

**Zuko, no! Emiko, why! Sokka, WHAT?**


	34. Sleep Needed

**There is no excuse, besides Mass Effect and The Research Paper of DOOM, for my absence. Apologies.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, yada yada yada.**

* * *

**Sleep Needed**

Training had been hard again. My shoulder burned, my back ached, and all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep for a few days.

Sleep.

Was.

Needed.

I crawled into my room, completely exhausted. I didn't want to bother changing, but no one likes to sleep in sweaty clothes, so I changed out of them and into a nice cotton shirt that was five times too big for me. It was comfortable and probably Zuko's, but at that moment, I didn't care. I just wanted to lie down.

My bed looked so inviting...

I crawled into bed, pulling the silk covers of the Royal Vacation Home over my chest, lying my head back on my soft, goose-duck pillow..._Ahh...bliss..._

When there was a knock at my door.

I groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over my head. _Leave me alone!_ I just wanted to sleep! What was wrong with _that?_

The knocking continued, so I stood up grumpily, my hair still plastered to one side of my head, and opened the wooden door as the culprit started knocking a third time. Sokka stood there, his arm raised and ready to strike my door again. He looked a little surprised by my attire, looking me up and down as if I were supposed to be ready to leave. "Emiko?"

"Sokka...I'm tired."

"I-I know," he said, rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't meet my eyes as he stepped into the room. He started looking around for something—what, exactly, I wasn't sure about. "Just wanting to make sure that you're doing okay. Making sure you're not punching innocent civilians or running off from plays or anything."

I wasn't even in the mood for a smile. I stood to the side and gestured for him to move in, which he did rather slowly. I closed the door behind him and leaned against it, looking at him from under my eyelashes.

Sokka was still in his workout clothes. His chest was only covered by a towel that was draped over his shoulders, and the baggy pants on his legs were sagging very, very low. Despite my tiredness, heat rushed to my cheeks and into my stomach from the look of his tanned skin.

He was just standing there, looking around my meager room. The only touch that I'd added was my mother's picture in the corner, on a nightstand, with incense in front of it. Other than that, I had a bed and a rug. He was looking at the bed.

I really wasn't in the mood, no matter how good he looked in his training uniform. "Are you just going to stand there, or did you have something to say?"

The back of his neck flushed darkly before he rubbed it nervously. "Just...a lot on my mind."

I sighed. I was tired, but Sokka had been there fore me plenty of times. It was the least that I could do to listen to him. Especially since that night of the play.

The thought of that made me blush, so when he turned around, he saw me staring at the floor, my face red. He stepped up to me. His feet were in my line of vision until he tilted my face up with one finger. "You too, huh?"

I nodded, staring into his beautiful blue eyes. I was too tired to look away. "Sokka, I..."

And then he was kissing me again.

It was just as I remembered. Slow, sensual, exploring.

His lips were teasing against mine. Whereas Zuko had been hot and passionate, Sokka was cool and sultry, always keeping me on my toes. It wasn't a battle for dominance.; he teased me until I melted and then he made his move. I felt like I was a glass of water, and he was a man dying of thirst. He drank me in slowly, as if I were the first and last woman he ever wanted to kiss.

Suddenly I was ripped backwards, out of his grasp. I was then looking up into Zuko's eyes, a fire hotter than the passion inside of me burning in his topaz depths. "Get _away_ from him," he whispered ferally.

I hadn't heard the door open. My heart was beating hard in my chest as I pushed against his chest to no avail. He would always be stronger than me. "You have no claim to me anymore," I breathed in panic, trying to get away.

His lips were then pushed against mine. All of the emotions, all of the yearning in my body made it hard to resist as he gripped me tighter and thrust his tongue into my mouth. He was all fire and need. He knew how to be rough, I knew from the many burns shaped like his hands. Those same hands were burning against the bare skin of my lower back.

Sokka grabbed me and pulled me back to him, my back against his torso. His lips gently glossed over my neck. "Let her choose, Zuko."

I was getting frustrated with the back and forth. "Both of you, will you just—"

"Tell me that you don't feel anything when I kiss you," Zuko said lowly, coming forwards to take my face into his hands. His lips started ghosting over my face, first my nose, then my cheeks and eyelids before placing one, hot, lingering kiss on my lips. Sokka was still kissing against my neck, starting to suck right below my ear. "Tell me that and I will leave."

I couldn't tell him that. I leaned up and kissed him, trying to determine what I felt from his kiss, before I turned back and tasted Sokka, too. The difference was like fire and water. Part of me wanted the fire quenched, but the other part wanted it to burn hotter.

I pulled away from Sokka, trying to ignore his lips on my neck and Zuko's hands on my waist. They both looked at each other and seemed to come to an understanding.

They both started kissing me—my senses couldn't take it any longer, and I couldn't choose.

So they chose for me.

It was all sensation as Zuko's hands moved over my hips, pulling my legs apart and rocking his hips against me. Sokka, behind me, ran his hands up my waist and around my breasts, his lips against my neck. It was as if they were one person, but I couldn't bring myself to see that Sokka was really behind me, whispering my name, and Zuko was really in front of me, moaning into my mouth.

The rocking of Sokka's hip behind me startled me. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't believe what was happening, all I knew was that I was—

Falling!

I fell hard onto the ground, sitting up instantly and looking around. My bedsheets were tangled around me, I was sweating like a rooster pig, and I realized that I was absolutely alone in my room.

I gave a frustrated shout and fell backwards, blowing out a sigh. _I can't be that frustrated after all that time...it's only been a few weeks since Zuko and I were together. And I just realized my feelings for Sokka! What was I thinking!_

My blush was quickly covered by the pillow that I put onto my face. I was so embarrassed... How did I get away with dreaming about my training companion? Zuko, I understood. Thinking of Sokka like that just made me want to slap myself in the face.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, I sat up and ignored my bruised bum. The sun was just barely risen, and I doubted that anyone was up just yet. As I stepped out of my bed and looked out the window, I stood there for a moment to watch the bright orange sun rise.

The sky was infused with pinks, purples, and subtle blues other than the sky. If I looked hard enough, I could see the moon, Yue, behind the few clouds up there. And if I looked even harder at the big ball of flame, I could possibly see a face, a smiling woman, who loved me more than anything in the world.

I sighed wistfully and wrapped my kimono over the underwrappings that I slept in. I left my feet barefoot and decided to take a walk to clear my mind...and my lust.

The sun was still low in the sky when I left my room. The halls were eerily quiet. I looked left and right as I kept going, expecting something to jump out of the shadows everywhere I turned. But then again, I was being paranoid. I deserved to be, after everything I'd been through, but where we were, I was safe.

I took a deep breath and moved out into the courtyard, wondering if I could be permitted a day just for relaxation and meditation. I hadn't been one with the spirits in a while. Normally, I could sleep and rest and be in sync with the world. Since my burning, though, I hadn't felt them correctly.

When I sat down at the fountain, I realized that I wasn't alone. On the other side of the stoney yard, Aang was practicing as the sun rose. _He's finally learning, I guess. Though it had to be hard rising with the moon first and then finally learning Firebending. _I watched as he took a deep breath, looking as if he had just gotten there, and shifted to the side in a stance. He swung his arms around in arcs, fire shooting from his hands as he stomped right then left then right again. The fire was a flurry of small shots, circling rapidly with his arms.

"Good job," I said as I pushed up off the fountain. He startled and turned to me, ready to attack. I smiled at the funny way his brow clenched up when he was serious, but he soon stood up and blushed. "But you need to work on keeping your arms straighter. You're too used to Waterbending and the flowing movement. Keep your arms straight or at a ninety degree angle, nothing more, nothing less."

He smiled with embarrassment. "At least you tell me what I do wrong. All Zuko does is tell me to _be more ferocious_. Or, _strike through my opponent's head_." He used quotation marks in the air, doing an awful impersonation of Zuko's voice.

"Yup." I nodded slowly, looking up at the room that I knew to be the Prince's. "Sounds like Zuko."

"So what was I doing wrong again?"

I smiled and walked over to him, taking his arm and holding it like he had, with a curve in his elbow. "This is what you were doing." Then I straightened it out, holding my hand under the elbow so it was completely straight. I balled up his fist as well. "This is what you _need_ to do."

He nodded seriously. "Okay. I see."

"Okay, now show me what we're working with." I stepped back slowly, and Aang brought his arms around almost stiffly, making me sigh. "Relax, Aang, I'm not going to bite your head off!"

He smiled slowly, taking one more deep breath and slowly relaxing his muscles. Then he took one fast step forwards and punched out a plume of flame big enough to kill a humming-moth.

Something along the line of a laugh came from my throat and nose. "I'm shaking in my boots, Avatar. Come on, show me some _real_ bending!"

Aang frowned now, balling up his fist and letting out a, "_Hrrumph!_" as he shot one foot out, jumped, and pumped out the other in two different, bright plumes of flame. They flew off past the fountain, making some of the water evaporate into the air.

I clapped slowly for him. "Much, much better, Aang." Who knew that I'd one day be the trainer for the Avatar? "I don't know why I didn't take you up the first time to train you. You work a lot better under less stress. All Zuko does is yell at you."

He took a deep breath and put one fist in the other palm, lowering them to cool off. Then his eyes opened and he looked straight at me. "I've noticed that. Well, unless its Toph teaching me, her normal talking _is _yelling." I had to laugh at that, the kid was right! "Speaking of Toph, you get along better with her than anyone I've ever met. Where did you meet her again?"

I smiled and reached out to take Aang's arm in mine. "Come on, we'll walk and talk. I'm tired of being cooped up in this place."

His eyebrow rose, but he only said, "Alright, sounds good to me."

We walked out the courtyard gates, beyond the red flowers of the Fire Nation. I stopped and picked one, smelling it before putting it behind my ear. It matched the color of my kimono beautifully. "So when Zuko and I still hated each other," I said as my toes hit the sand of the beach, _not now,_ "Iroh took me shopping. Apparently I was to stay longer than expected. He bought me _frilly dresses_, and I didn't know what they were for until I had to go to some party. Well there, Zuko and I got into a…" _Drunken make-out session._ Blush crept up my cheeks, and I looked away so Aang wouldn't see it. "…Fight. I went out to sulk, I guess, and Toph joined me."

"You've known Toph for longer than I have, then," he stated. He seemed confused as he stared out onto the water.

"Yeah. I met her later with Iroh out in the wild, after Zuko ran away." I looked down and sighed, stopping in my tracks. A sudden urge boiled inside of me. "Can I tell you something that I haven't told anyone else?"

Aang stopped as well and looked at me with concern. "Sure. You wanna sit down? You don't look too good."

"Sure. Yeah, lets sit down." I plopped down there, under the shadow of an outcropping, where the sun didn't shine. And maybe it was a good thing while I was admitting my weakness.

He gently placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him. "Emiko, are you sure you'll be alright? You look a little pale."

It sure did feel like it. "I-I'll be fine. I just need to confide in someone who's not gonna yell at me, and not someone who has no idea what I'm talking about."

"How can you be sure that _I'll_ know what you're talking about?" he asked as he crossed his legs, put his elbows on his knees, and leaned his head into his palms.

"Because you're the Avatar." I looked away, hoping that maybe he _did_ know what had been wrong with me. And that he understood.

His face was downcast now. "Just because I'm the Avatar doesn't mean I know everything."

"I know, I know, believe me, I know," I recovered quickly. "I'm just curious. I don't want something to be wrong with me. I need someone else to know this, too."

Aang's face was completely confused, but he nodded. "Of course!"

I took a deep breath, still holding his hand. It gave me a comfort that made me relax. I was rather surprised. Aang would always be one of my best friends. "When Zuko left me…I went into some kind of state."

"Like the Avatar State?"

"No. More of like…comatose. I was completely gone. Even Uncle couldn't get through to me." I looked down at the ground and sighed. "I was in the deep catacombs of my brain, I guess. Memories attacked me, some were enlarged, some destroyed, others I had never seen in my _life_. But in the center of all of that was a flame. It was of a little girl with dark hair. And…then _I_ picked her up, as a _mother_."

Aang didn't seem to understand yet. "You were in a state of shock. Maybe your mind just made it up to make up for Zuko being gone, I dunno."

"That's not all of it, Aang." I pulled my hand away from his and pulled my knees up to my chin, wrapping my arms around my legs. "When I got closer to the flame, it diminished. When I moved away, it strengthened. I almost touched it, extinguished it, when my memories pulled me back. …And then I woke up."

"That doesn't seem like the end of your story." He smiled a childish smile that left me smiling as well. "You can tell me, Emiko."

It felt strange to talk about it. I created a small flame in my hands to make sure that I could still bend. "When I woke up, I couldn't Firebend."

"_What_?"

"I couldn't Firebend. I tried and tried, but…I couldn't do it!"

He looked positively frightened. "This couldn't happen to me, could it?"

I laughed at him, smiling at his boyish innocence. "No, I doubt it." I'd felt my presence slipping away from me. I'd felt my own soul being cut off from the Spirit World, wherein my power lay. "You're the Avatar. If you couldn't bend, you wouldn't be the Avatar."

"I'd just be Aang, dead like the rest of the Airbenders," he said bitterly, looking down at the sand with an anger in his eyes that scared me. "All I am to anyone is the Avatar! 'Avatar this!' 'Avatar that!' I'm tired of it, Emiko, but it's not like I can just walk away, there are people who _need_ me."

His anger frightened me, but I understood what he meant. Who was I to be the next Sun Spirit? Who dictated what I would be and what I wouldn't be? Couldn't I just be a regular girl, living a regular life, maybe not even a Firebender? But then again, I wouldn't be me. "Aang, in that retrospect, we have something in common." I took his hand and placed it on my stomach, where the angry red scar was still healing. I placed my hand on his, and smiled up at him. "You wouldn't be you without having lived through what you have. I wouldn't be me without having some of the Sun Spirit with me."

Aang let out a soft puff of air, letting out his anger, and rubbed the back of his head. "I guess you're right. We seem to both have the same problem."

I looked at him with confused eyes. "Huh?"

His hand took mine, and he whispered, "We both seem to get distracted," with a smile on his face. I was still partially confused until he pointed behind me. I looked up to see the sun a lot higher than I had left it this morning.

"Oops."

He smiled wider and stood up in a gust of wind, blowing sand all over me. "Yeah, _oops_. We probably had better get back."

I shook my head and stood up, ignoring the wobbling in my legs. I never realized that we'd be sitting so long, my legs were almost asleep! Anyways, we weren't going to do anything but relax the rest of the day. Even the Avatar deserved a day off! "Nope. We're going to take a break."

"But I haven't even done anything today!"

I smiled wickedly. "Exactly. You deserve a break, Aang! Why don't we just relax here on the beach? If they want to find us, they'll send out Toph."

He seemed to contemplate it. But he deserved it; he worked way too damn hard. Even now I could sense all of the tense thoughts lodged inside his head as he thought my plan over.

"I mean…what could a little fun hurt?" I asked, taking his hand and pulling him out into the light. Instantly my equilibrium straightened out and my legs felt solid beneath me.

Finally Aang made up his mind, and with a brilliant smile.

_This is way better than sleep...although I still do need it._

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**Emiko never gets to talk to Aang. So, it happened. Not very exciting, I'm sorry! :(**

**This was a lot worse beforehand, and I still don't believe that it is fit for your eyes, but I've kept you waiting long enough!**


	35. Secret Weapons

**I've been putting all my time and effort into Mass Effect, (an awesome game if you haven't played it,) and fifty pages of two stories on it. I know, I know...but that means I'll have another story up once it's almost complete! That just means I may be a wee bit slow.**

**Disclaimer: Don't. Own. Viacom. Does. Blech.**

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**Secret Weapon**

**Katara**

Katara peeked over the ridge where Toph had said that Aang and Emiko had been, and the Earthbender had been right. Emiko was lying out in the sun, smiling as Aang whipped up a sculpture of Appa with his Earthbending, Airbending, and even Waterbending. The scene was peaceful with serene waves and a sun rising high in the sky.

Emiko smiled, leaning up on one arm. She was lying on a discarded robe, only wearing a red one-shouldered swim top that showed her stomach and a pair of tight black shorts. "Good, but watch _this_." She picked up a handful of sand, warily stuck her hand in the water, and pulled out a small piece of muddy sand.

Aang looked at her with confusion. "What's that supposed to be?"

"I'm not done yet!" she exclaimed, gently poking and prodding in certain parts. When she pulled her hand away, a small, flat sun with rays was in her hand. "Almost done…" She put her other hand on top of it, and a bright white light came from between her hands. "Aaaand… There!" She pulled her hand away, and in her hand was a small glass sun.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Aang cried, moving closer and gently taking her hand to look at it. "Where'd you learn that?"

Katara scrunched up her nose in distaste. A little green monster was nagging at her somewhere on the inside. "_'Wow, that's amazing!'_" she mocked, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her nose up as if she smelled something bad. "'_Where'd you learn that?'_"

The Waterbender still wasn't sure what to make of the older girl lying in the sand. She seemed harmless, but she'd gotten into so much trouble...was she worth keeping around? And would the drama between her and Zuko keep them from training Aang properly? Oh, and the girl had also said that she 'wouldn't teach Aang,' that she, 'wasn't the right person.' Now, here she was, taking a break from the training she'd said she wouldn't do.

"Hey, you found 'em!" Sokka exclaimed as he scooted up by his sister. "What do you think they've been doing?"

"HEY GUYS!" Toph cried, jumping down off of the outcrop over Sokka and Katara's heads. She landed in the sand with a loud _THUD_ and a laugh of triumph. "What've you two been doing out here all alone?"

She'd said this with innuendo, but Emiko hadn't picked up on this. "Relaxing," Emiko explained as she held up the small glass sun to the light. "Isn't this awesome?"

"You're asking the wrong person that, Red," Toph said with a little bit of humor in her words.

Emiko instantly looked mortified. "Oh, Toph, I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind—" But she was cut off by Toph who chuckled. She kicked some sand at her friend and went back to laying out in the sun, tanning her pale Fire Nation skin.

"We were just having a little fun," Aang explained as Sokka and Katara came down the slope, sliding slightly on the loose sand. "I think we all deserve it after the rough week we've had."

"Yeah, lets have some fun!" Toph cried, clenching her fists and pumping in the air. She instantly plunged into the sand, and no one saw her for a few minutes.

Sokka smiled and raised an eyebrow. "You mean…kinda like a beach party?"

Emiko's face turned to that of relief. "Yes. _Exactly_ like a beach party. Loosen our ties for a little while, you know? We've all been training up to our necks, and we're about to lose our heads! Just a little bit of fun to keep from going crazy, right?"

Sokka sat down next to Emiko and flopped into the sand. "You are a _lifesaver_."

Katara wanted to fume. She wasn't jealous that Emiko was taking her friends. She wasn't jealous that she and Sokka had become close. _He's _my_ brother!_ She wasn't jealous that Emiko and Zuko had had something going, either.

No. Of course not.

Pushing Sokka over to make more room for herself and to hold her glass figure up to the light, Emiko smiled. She threw it up in the air and it made rainbows dazzle through the sky.

Right when it was arcing back down, a burst of fire rammed into it, and it lit aflame and landed at Emiko's feet in the sand as she shrieked. Sokka was instantly on his feet, pulling her out of the way so it didn't burn her.

Smoke cleared, and they all looked up at the outcrop. Zuko ran and jumped off of it, Firebending directly at Aang and Emiko at the same time.

They barely dodged out of the way and under a sand dune. But Zuko kept firing, and Aang looked a little scared as the top of the dune was blasted away, leaving a crisp streak of glass across the beach. Aang left Emiko behind, who looked positively dazed, and jumped over the body of sand Appa.

Emiko finally looked up to see Aang locked in a dance where Zuko was the conductor. "Zuko, what in Agni's name are you doing?" she cried, struggling to her feet.

Zuko's boot stopped for one moment, and his icy glare sliced towards Emiko. "_Teaching_."

He Firebended towards the dancing Aang once more, and he jumped away from the impact, high into the air. Emiko shouted, whether in anger or fright Katara didn't know, when a ball of fire came her way. She scrambled out of its path right before it hit her.

The others seemed to be too surprised to do anything at the moment.

Zuko turned back to Aang and struck just when Aang landed a distance away. The Avatar, though, jumped onto the outcropping and dodged repeated blasts of fire as Aang struggled to run across the uneven surface.

The Prince's last blast shattered the top of the cliff into rubble. He scrambled over it to follow the Avatar.

"Come on!" Emiko yelled, grabbing Katara and Sokka's hands and propelling them back towards the mansion. "He's attacking Aang!"

Katara bitterly pulled her hand away from Emiko's grasp, barely catching herself from falling and doing a face plant in the sand. She didn't need the Firebender's help, not for anything if she had something to say about it.

They came upon Aang and Zuko on the beach house roof, Zuko just climbing up onto it. Both of the men were in similar stances.

"Get a grip before I blast you off the roof!" Aang cried, indecision and confusion plain upon his face.

The Prince didn't seem to care. "Go ahead and do it!"

Aang slid down the room just as Zuko attacked once more. Jets of fire followed him and set fire to the path he was on. The Airbender reached the end of the roof and grabbed onto the gutter, swinging himself into a nearby room through a window.

They couldn't see him anymore. And Zuko soon followed.

"Aang, Zuko, please stop!" Emiko cried as she rushed forwards. There were crashes, sounds of infernos, and sounds of tornados.

And then there was Aang screaming, "ENOUGH!"

The outside of the house was ripped apart, wood splintering along with a screaming, surprised Zuko on a current of wind. He landed in the trees by the house, falling through them and cracking branches. He landed on the grass, trying to stand. He grabbed his head and moaned slightly.

"What's wrong with you ?" Sokka cried as he advanced on the crazy Firebender.

Aang jumped off the balcony and landed near them, and Emiko ran to him and gasped, "Aang, are you okay!" She saw a cut on his face and instantly reached up to wipe the blood away. Her angry gaze was set on Zuko, now. "You could've killed him!" Katara was glad to see that Emiko could do nothing to Aang's cut—she was a Firebender, not a healer.

"What's wrong with _me_?" Zuko wanted to know incredulously. "What's wrong with all of _you_?" He stood up and threw his arms around in anger. "How can you all sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away?" There was a pause as they all stared at him. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?" Zuko asked, looking to Emiko to see why she seemed to be the only other confused one.

"About Sozin's Comet…" the Avatar said nervously as he took a step forward, "I was actually going to wait to fight the Fire Lord until _after_ it came."

"_After_?" Emiko and Zuko asked at the same time, both completely and utterly confused and lost.

"I'm not ready." He looked anything but confident and he was definitely unsure as he said this, his head was turned down.

"Yes, you are!" Emiko exclaimed, placing a hand on his arm. "You're the best student I've ever trained! I've never _seen_ anyone pick up Firebending so quickly!"

He looked away from her and pulled his arm back. "I need more time to master it."

Toph nodded with a reluctant look on her face. "And frankly, your Earthbending could still use some work too." Aang looked down at this, completely downcast at the pronouncement.

"So…" Zuko almost stammered. "You all knew Aang was going to _wait_?"

"That would've been a good thing to tell _me_!" Emiko cried, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I've only bee training Aang in the absolutely _necessary_ things! If I had known, I would've done what I would _normally_ do! Damn it, this changes everything."

Sokka nodded in reluctance. "Sorry. Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord _right now_, he's gonna loose." He looked at he downcast Aang with sympathy. "No offense."

"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war," Katara explained. "But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse." She dropped her head in worry. Now she wished she would've told at least Zuko.

"You're wrong," Emiko mumbled, holding her head in her hands. "He can do this, I know he can."

"What, Emiko," Aang asked desperately, throwing his hands up in the air, "what am I going to do? Throw flaming rocks at them with typhoons?"

"That _would_ be a good tactic," Sokka said with a nod to his head.

Emiko, the dark-haired, light-skinned, and bright-eyed Firebender _smiled._ For the first time since her baby had been lost, Emiko smiled brightly. "Aang...you all know that my father was after me for a reason, right?"

"No," Zuko said as he lowered his eyelids at her. "I thought he was just after you because you were his _daughter_."

Emiko's smile softened and for once, Katara could see why Zuko fell for her. Her smile was beautiful, open, with nothing held back. "No. I had a bounty on my head, all right. But…not from my father." She looked directly into Zuko's eyes now, hers filled with a sad fire. "There was one thousand gold pieces of reward on my head…from _your_ father."

**Emiko**

Everyone stared at me with confusion and utter surprise. Well, it was true. The whole reason everyone wanted me was because of that money that Zuko's father put on me.

"Why would my father want to put a bounty on your head?" Zuko asked incredulously, crossing his arms over his chest. I was getting really angry at him. If he'd burned me _again_, there would have been hell to pay. He was lucky that I had great news for all of them and that I was in a pretty damn good mood.

"Because I'm the one bender who will be strongest as the comet comes closer," I said simply, smiling widely. Every day we got closer to Sozin's Comet was more energy inside of me. I felt closer to my ancestors and closer to the essence of fire itself. I lit a fire in my hand, letting its white fire glow stronger as it ran up my arm. "I'm the daughter of the Sun Spirit—the very essence that tells whether a child will or will not bend, whether someone will be powerful..." I let the flame grow faster, almost covering my entire arm before snuffing it out. "...Or weak."

Sokka looked at me in a strange way. I was hoping that he wasn't thinking of Yue. I didn't need any pity, because it would be beautiful when I joined the Spirits. I couldn't think about that yet, though. I still needed to have kids. "So you're saying that you're some kind of all-powerful super weapon against the Fire Nation?"

"Pretty much," I said once more, a large smile on my face.

Zuko stepped up between us, his arms across his chest, and I blushed at the memory of my dream between the two of them. My embarrassment didn't slow him a bit. "If you're so all-powerful," he said lowly, "then why hasn't my father been after you _and_ the Avatar?"

"He has," I said softly, looking up at him through my eyelashes. "My...my father's first priority was to reclaim me for the Fire Nation. And look where I've ended up." _Back in the Fire Nation, where I truly belong. _

And it turned out that, in the Fire Nation, I flourished. I was performing Master level moves with ease. My fire was white-hot—literally—and very, very dangerous. My body was toned to physical perfection. And I looked damn fine, too. Maybe a little too on the skinny side, but beggars can't be choosers.

"I know you're scared," I said to Aang, moving over to him to put my hands on his shoulders. "And I know you aren't ready to save the word. But…unless you defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't _be_ a world to save anymore."

At first he looked completely and utterly stunned, and maybe a little scared. But then he snapped out of it. "Why didn't you tell me about this _sooner?_" Aang demanded of me, pulling away from my hands.

I felt a little bit of a sting from that. I knew that he was stressed, though, so I put it to the side. "I didn't think I had to," I said simply, shrugging my shoulders and looking away from his desperate eyes. "I thought you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you all decided to _wait._"

"This is bad." He placed both hands on his head in despair and shook it, dropping to his knees. "This is really, _really_ bad. The Fire Lord is after you, me..._all of my friends!_ You're all in trouble because of me!"

"No, Aang," Katara said, kneeling beside him, "it's because of this war. None of this is your fault."

"Aang, you don't have to do this alone," Sokka told him, and Aang looked up to meet Toph, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and my eyes.

"Yeah!" Toph exclaimed. "If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot of taking him down! I'd like to try some more of those flaming rocks." Everyone looked at her blankly, but she didn't sense it. "What? They were nice!"

Sokka pumped his arms in enthusiasm. "Team Avatar is back!" He pointed confidently to everyone. "Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fan. Sword. And Spirit!"

_Spirit_, I thought, feeling my inner fire burn darker at the thought. With a smirk, I embraced the feeling, letting white flames dance over my fingertips. "Aang. Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing that any of us ever do. Are you sure you're up to it?"

He took my hand when I offered it and clasped it tightly. "Of course, if my friends are all with me. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Oh," I said quickly, letting go of Aang's hand to place my palm firmly on his shoulder, "there's _one_ more thing I think you should learn, though." Everyone looked to me expectantly as I glanced to my former lover. I said this very, very reluctantly. "Zuko. I need a favor of you."

The Prince crossed his arms over his chest, appearing slightly uncomfortable with all the eyes set on him. "And what would _that_ be?"

"I need you to teach Aang what Uncle taught you." His face seemed to turn to guilt, and his eyes clenched. "I need you to teach Aang to redirect lightening."

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**Just say it. I'm a bad person. I need to update sooner.**

**I also need reviews to push me! :(**


	36. Stressed!

**I always told myself that I would be done posting this by the time Korra came out... Well, I lied. And I LOVE Korra to DEATH. I'm a teen and I'm still giddy about a kid's show...**

**Oh, and Mako and Bolin are YUMMM. I know what I'M writing about next!**

**Anyway, here's a long chapter, hopefully you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything!**

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**Stressed!**

Toph sat still, trying to expand her hearing, trying to listen to the feelings around her. What Naomi had taught her was something she'd never thought about. How did one _hear_ a vibration? Toph could easily tell if someone was lying, but she'd never just closed off her ears—her only sense that worked correctly besides touch—and _listened._

She could hear Aang and Zuko practicing the new move Emiko had told them about off to her right. She could hear Emiko and Katara awkwardly making lunch together in the recently destroyed kitchen. Sokka was practicing with his sword.

And Toph was listening to them do all of this. It wasn't just feeling the vibrations anymore. She could have told where they were before, sure, but never what Katara was saying, or how she fidgeted with her hair. Emiko kept running her hand through her short hair, as if making sure she'd really cut it off.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave Aang and Zuko alone for him to learn that fighting move?" Katara was asking, rolling something out on one of the stone counters.

Emiko quirked her lips, which strangely was its own vibration, and replied with, "Zuko knows that until the comet and his father are gone, he can't do anything to the Avatar. Or at least I hope he's smart enough to know that."

Katara raised an eyebrow at her and wiped a smudge of flour from her forehead. "What exactly happened between you and Zuko anyway? You used to be all lovey-dovey, and now I see you and Sokka together all the time. Which, by the way, I'm not a fan of. You hurt my brother and _I hurt you._"

Toph laughed at this at the same time that Emiko snorted. She knew that it was bad to listen in on their conversation, but she was just as curious. Besides, it was a training exercise. Not like she was meaning to listen to their vibrations or anything.

"We...got in a fight." Emiko's hands bitterly pounded dough, dough that Toph was looking forward to. Emiko always made the best food! "And don't worry. I like Sokka, I wouldn't hurt him."

Katara was fidgeting again. She shuffled her feat and threw her hair behind her shoulder, waiting a little too long to answer. "Well...relationships mend up in the end, right?"

Toph knew that her saying this was just a way to ward off the awkwardness of the conversation. She didn't really mean it. Emiko must have caught on, too, because of the way she held herself, but she replied anyway. "...Not from that kind of fight, Katara. I…I really don't feel like talking about it right now. I'm sick of it, and I'm done. Without Aang, and Toph, and Sokka, I think that you guys would have already seen my breakdown."

_We have,_ Toph thought but didn't say, wanting to stop listening but so glued that she couldn't help herself.

Katara stayed silent for a moment. She stopped rolling out her dough and sighed, rubbing the back of her neck and turning toward Emiko. "Look..." she said hesitantly, putting a hand on the girl's forearm, which Toph could tell was shaking. "I feel like I've always treated you badly. I've never trusted you, I never...I'm sorry."

Emiko smirked and shook her head, but didn't pull away from Katara. "You don't have to apologize. I've put it behind me and—"

"But you _haven't_." Katara made Emiko stop working and turned her to be face to face. "You haven't, Emiko. I can still see the hurt in your eyes. You tell me that you want to help Aang—"

"I _do—_"

"—but you don't understand how your stress will only add to his. If you really want to help him, you'll take a day to relax. Stop and breathe for a moment. We're all at our wit's end. So, come on. You and me. Girl's day."

Emiko's face was contorted. Either she'd never heard Katara talk that much, (_Lucky Emiko,)_ or she was just really confused. "Katara...you _hate_ me. Why would you suggest a _girl's day_?"

Katara's face dropped, almost as if asking, _Really?_ "Look, Emiko...we started off on the wrong foot. Let's start over and just relax. You and me. The boys are practicing, Toph hates being pampered, and who knows where she is—"

_Hey! I take that personally! I like being pampered, I just don't like my feet being touched!_

"So come on. Let the boys cook for a change." Katara wrapped on arm around Emiko's and started to pull her off. The Firebender, trying to hold her ground, plated her feet but was pulled forward anyway.

"But...my dough—!"

"Poor Emiko," Toph said with a chuckle as she stood up and stretched. Her mind kind of hurt for listening so long, but she didn't care. She was getting this listening thing down good! "Never stood a chance."

**Emiko**

"Gather 'round, Team Avatar," Sokka said as he positioned Zuko and I in the middle of a large field. He stood in front of us and proceeded to sit on one of the many rocks in the giant field we were in, while the rest of us our team sat in a semi circle in front of him. "Emiko, Zuko, as you two are our resident Firebenders, you will be our _Team Crazy Fire Daddy. _Emiko, you will take the place of Ozai's many guards, and Zuko...well, you get the picture. In the real deal, Zuko, you'll be way ahead. Emiko, I...well, you'll be doing your Spirty, Firey, Sun-Momma thing."

Zuko stared at Sokka with what was a mixture of disdain and utter confusion. I ran a hand through my hair, noticing that it was getting a little longer, (_My bangs, when did they start getting in my eyes?) _and shook my head. Sokka knew I didn't like getting paired with "Hot Head." And then, I contorted my face and asked, "_Huh?_"

He knelt down and took a stick, drawing a line that curved to the left towards a symbol that stood for "Team Crazy Fire Daddy." "First Toph and I will draw your fire. Then, Katara,"—he drew a straight line to the center—"charge in with some liquidy offense. And while _Team Crazy Fire Daddy_ is distracted, Aang swoops in and _BAM_!" His line curved to the right and ran straight through the melon symbol. "He delivers the final blow!"

Aang stared at the drawing with slight disgust. I tried to give him a winning smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace.

oOoOo

I was really hoping for one of those seaweed wrap things that Katara had given me earlier in the day as giant rocks were thrown at me. I mean, come on, who gave Toph the idea that her boulders could be set on _fire_? This was in no way relaxing or helping me help Aang. In fact, I was against him at the moment!

And besides, why was I protecting "the Fire Lord" anyway? I didn't want him to be saved, nor did I want my back turned to Zuko at this point. Both of us were breathing hard and shooting out flame after flame, first at Sokka and Toph, then at Katara. I hadn't seen Aang yet.

This wasn't what it was going to feel like on the battlefield. I was going to be running around like a pig-chicken with its head cut off. My heart was going to be pounding out of my chest. At the moment, I was just feeling annoyed and unsure of myself.

What was Sokka _thinking,_ making Zuko be his father in this run through? As if Zuko didn't have _enough_ problems, now he was pretending to be his father! _Smooth, Sokka_, I thought as I turned one of Katara's blasts into pure, hot steam, _real smooth._

Water and fire destroyed rock, sword smashed, fan slashed. I heard grunts and hard breathing behind the curtain of steam, and then I heard a _"Watch it, Toph!"_ from Sokka. She was clearly enjoying herself _way_ too much.

"Leave some for the real enemies!" I cried when a boulder came too close. "I'm a little too young to die by crushing death!"

She laughed maniacally, making me bend low, twist my hands, and will all the fire away from her side of the battlefield. She cried out in indignation when the fire went out on her boulders. "Hey!"

Suddenly I jumped away from two, three, four rocks, distracting me from hearing footsteps coming closer. Rocks were flying in all directions, but I quickly destroyed them by aiming at their target centers. Zuko took care of flying boomerangs and water that tried to kill me.

A rather large rock hit me in the arm, making me hiss. I ignored the hot blood running down my arm and turned in the direction I knew Toph was. My anger ignited, and the next rock was disintegrated in front of me. That was when Aang jumped through the smoke, the boulders, and the water and landed behind Zuko. He grabbed the Firebender from behind, bringing his staff around Zuko's neck, and looked completely terrified.

I turned, ready to protect Zuko, when I noticed that everyone had stopped. We were all looking at Aang expectedly. "What are you waiting for, Aang?" I asked, breathing heavily. I cupped the gash on my arm with the opposite hand. "If you wait like that, the Fire Lord will have you dead in an instant."

He suddenly dropped his staff and backed up, shaking his head and looking positively mortified. "I…I can't."

Sokka walked up irately, pointing accusingly at the Avatar. "If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now!" He made a beheading gesture against his neck, making Aang flinch.

"I'm sorry. It just didn't feel right. I…didn't feel like myself. I...I'm sorry!" The Avatar then turned and fled in a cloud of dust, running faster than I'd ever seen him.

Zuko, next to me, started rubbing his neck and looking off after the Avatar. "It's too bad you're not Ozai's personal guard," he said lowly, not turning to look at me. "We'd have him dead in an instant."

I gritted my teeth and elbowed him in the stomach. Hard.

oOoOo

"You need to eat," I whispered to Aang, though in truth I hadn't touched my food either. We were sitting in the courtyard, Katara missing for some reason. A slight breeze flittered around, making me shiver even through my kimono.

"Look who's talking," he grumbled bitterly, pushing the noodles around with his chopsticks. Everyone else at that moment was heartily slurping and making as much noise as possible. Though it made me sick to my stomach.

Suddenly Katara walked in, a long scroll in her hands. "I have a surprise for everyone!" she cried, unusually happy.

"I knew it!" Toph cried, holding up her chopsticks and slinging a few noodles around. "You _did_ have a secret thing with Haru!" I had no clue who this Haru guy was, but I could see Katara's blush come and fade away. Toph's smile was so huge that I had to smile too. I couldn't openly laugh at Katara, though. We'd become good...well, not exactly _friends,_ but acquaintances, and that was better than where we'd been before.

"Uh, no." At this, everyone started shoving food in their mouths again, already over the momentary distraction. "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found _this_!" She threw the scroll down, and it unrolled by itself. "Look at baby Zuko!"

The scroll showed a cute little baby, smiling happily as he threw his arms in the air. He seemed to be on the beach where our time off had turned into Zuko fighting Aang.

I bit my lip, trying to fight down the hurt that welled in my stomach as I pushed my food away. That could have been what mine and Zuko's baby had looked like. Why in Koh's name couldn't I get over this? I had to do it. For Aang's sake.

"Isn't he cute?" she cooed as everyone laughed and poked Zuko, all with teasing remarks. I just picked at my newly-acquired bandage on my arm. Zuko just closed his eyes, and I knew that Katara had hit a nerve. "Oh come one, I was just teasing."

Zuko opened his emotionless topaz eyes. "That's not me. …It's my Father."

Katara rapidly rolled up the scroll. I was then very glad that my child had not looked like that. I didn't want my child to be anything like Ozai. Zuko...Zuko wasn't his father. I knew that. But if my child grew up to be anything like that monster, I wasn't sure if I would be able to call it my child.

"But…he looked so _innocent_," Sokka said with confusion, his face like a fish out of water. "He was a normal...well, Fire Nation, so not normal, but normal Fire Nation baby!"

Zuko's eyes were still closed. This was one of those moments that I wanted to put my hand over his and squeeze. My hand twitched with the need but I held it back. I wasn't happy with him, and he wasn't happy with me. We weren't back to that stage and we would never be! "Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst Father in the history of Fathers."

Aang looked down, and I instantly noticed his pain. How could I tell him about my pain, like the other day, when he was still hurting? But then, I couldn't understand. Why was this such a big deal, anyway? "But he _is_ still a human being." Everyone's eyes were suddenly on the Avatar.

"You're going to _defend_ him ?" Zuko demanded.

Aang stood up and faced us all. "No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person and the world will probably be better off without him. But there's _gotta _be another way."

I couldn't understand. Aang...didn't know if he could kill the Fire Lord? "Like what?" I asked softly, staring up at him, trying to see into his storm-filled mind.

The Avatar shrugged. "I…don't know." He dropped his head and sighed. "This goes against everything I learned from the monks." Now he was pacing, and I knew that when a guy started pacing, it wasn't a good thing. "I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like…"

I flinched at that remark. How many people had I 'wiped out?' How many times had I just not liked a situation and tried to fix it?

"Sure you can!" Sokka exclaimed, shrugging it off like it was nothing. "If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you."

By now Aang was ready to explode with anger. His fists were even balled up and ready to fight. He rapidly turned around and yelled, "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in!"

Now was when Katara decided to start her recovery act. "Aang, we do understand. It's just…"

"Just _what_, Katara ? _What_ ?" he snapped, interrupting her.

You could tell that Sugar Queen was annoyed. "We're trying to help!"

He pointed to her accusingly. "Then when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd _love_ to hear it!" He threw his arms up in exasperation and turned to walk off.

"Aang, don't walk away from this!" Katara cried, moving to follow him. But Zuko put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself."

I stood up and dusted off my kimono with annoyance. "What, like you left me to sort things out by _my_self?" I asked bitterly. "Koh, _no._ He needs a friend, and it looks like that friend'll be me." I turned on my heel and stormed away.

In a way, it felt good to say that. But then again it probably just tore the scab of our relationship open more. It was just too bad that it had to happen, but I wasn't going to let Aang walk away alone. Hopefully I wasn't doing what Katara said and putting more strain on him than he already had.

**Aang**

"Hey, you want some company?"

Aang hadn't been expecting that. He jumped at her voice, as did Momo on his shoulder, but still sat in his cross-legged state, trying to calm his nerves to figure out what to do. "No, not really." Momo left him to fend for himself.

"Well too bad, Avatar." She had soft smirk in her voice, but also worry and sympathy. Emiko easily jumped from tree to tree until she was sitting right next to him, her short, pale legs swinging over the edge of the large branch. "Looks like you're gonna have to deal with me."

He opened one eye to look at her, and saw that her face was completely somber. She even looked a little…sad? Reluctant? "I need to be alone, Emiko."

"No." She put a hand on his. "No one needs to be alone. Not ever." Then she gently poked him in the chest, right above where his heart was pounding angrily. "Because there's always gonna be this, and this needs something to hold in it."

"Since when are you the knowledgeable one?" he wanted to know, closing his eye once more to try and concentrate.

She rebuffed just as bitterly. "Since when are you the angst-filled one? I thought that was _Zuko_." Emiko shivered slightly, and he opened his eye to see that even though her kimono was long-sleeved, it was thin and she was freezing. "Never thought that day would come."

"What do you want with me?"

"I want to help you."

When he opened his eyes and looked at her, he saw that she was sincere. Her Fire Nation eyes held no pity, only knowledge and a need to help. She hadn't taken time to fix her hair, and it was sticking up every other way and had some leaves in it.

Her hand was put back on his, and she leaned forwards slightly. "Let me help you."

Aang sighed and leaned his head back against the tree trunk, wanting to disappear but he couldn't. "Unless you have a plan that doesn't involve killing the Fire Lord, then you can't help me."

"Well so much for you being the upbeat one," she mumbled bitterly. She pulled her warm hand away and crossed her arms over her chest, her face downcast and hurt.

He looked up and saw that he had insulted her, and he sighed. "Sorry. It's just that…I can't kill him, Emiko. What do you want to tell me?"

She turned her head downwards, taking a deep breath. "Well, you don't know my past, Aang. So I guess you'll hear a little bit more."

"I told you that your past doesn't matter." He gritted his teeth, remembering when she had talked to Katara about taking vengeance on murderers. Only she had been the murderer who had committed patricide. And killed her mother.

"So _you_ say," she sighed. "But…if I told you that _I've_ killed, then would I still go down in your good book?" Her eyes looked up, and all he saw was a hollow form of the once cheerful girl.

"I…already know about your mother, Emiko," he whispered, and he saw a flash of fire, a flash of agony pass through her yellow gaze.

"No. That's not it."

He was completely confused now. "But…I overheard you talking to Katara about—"

She put a finger over his lips, clenching her eyes shut. "I've killed, Aang. In cold-blooded _murder_." Now she pulled her finger away as if she would scald him, and looked down on her hands in her lap.

Aang's blood froze in his veins. Emiko? _Killed_? _Cold-blooded murder_?

Her gaze never returned to him. "If…you changed your mind about me, I understand. You and…your people…didn't condone killers."

He instantly grasped her hand and pulled her towards him, and onto his lap. "I know that it wasn't cold-blooded, Emiko."

"You weren't there. I _wanted_ to kill him. I wanted to see him _suffer._" Her face was completely emotionless, almost as if she were lost in the memory from long ago. He'd never seen her like this and it kind of scared him.

Slowly, Aang realized that he might've been wrong about Emiko. That she was more lost than he had initially thought. Maybe she… No. Emiko was a good person, he knew it. He could feel it. "Tell me the story."

"…You wouldn't understand."

He tugged on her hand, making her finally look at him. There was a dazed expression in her eyes that really worried him. "There's a lot I don't understand. But I'll sure try."

She looked away from his direct gaze. "It…was right after the North Pole." He nodded, waiting for her to continue. "Damn it, I feel like I'm just complaining to you all the time. You don't deserve this." She gave out a bitter laugh and hit her head on the tree trunk behind her. "Katara told me that I was hurting you by giving you my stress. You don't deserve this."

"Keep going."

"But—"

"_Keep going_, Emiko."

Taking a deep breath, she told him, "Azula came. Said that Zuko and Uncle were wanted back home. Ozai needed family or some dumb crap along those lines. We got to the Armada and were attacked. One of them had Uncle. And I told him that if he hurt one hair on his head…"

She put both hands to her face and shook her head hard, as if to rid herself of the memory. When she looked back up, a agonized look was in her face.

"He would've killed Iroh. I…I had to do something! But…I blanked out. And when I woke up…he was…"

"He was what, Emiko." But he knew.

"_Dead. _I…I had…_boiled his blood_." She looked at him, haunted, and he knew that he couldn't kill Ozai. Not if it made him like this. "I understand why you don't want to kill another being. It hurts, Aang. It hurts in your chest forever and you'll never get over it. Well, at least _I _haven't. So...don't. If you don't want to kill him..." She squeezed his hand tighter than she'd already been gripping it. "Then I trust your judgment. We'll find another way."

**Emiko**

When I woke up the next morning, my back hurt and I was sore all over. I vaguely wondered why, then was poked with a piece of bark. _Crap, I fell asleep in a tree again. _Memories of the night before flashed back, and I almost fell out of the damned tree.

I had never told anyone that story before, not even Zuko. Only Uncle knew about it. So what was it about Aang that made me want to spill my guts about everything? My mind came up with one explanation: I was going soft.

Stretching to get the knot out of my back, I called out, "Aang?" When I got no answer, and no chattering Momo, I figured he had to have gone back to camp. So I slid back to the forest floor and walked back as well.

But something wasn't right. Something ominous was floating around. Where could the Avatar had gone? Wouldn't have he had woken me?

Something strange was going on. Something didn't feel right. And I could tell for sure that something was wrong when I started running back to camp, my heart beating a mile a minute even before I'd started running.

oOoOo

"Okay, that's everything." Sokka packed one more sleeping bag up onto Appa's saddle.

"No its not," Toph called as I ran into camp. She was sitting on some steps, leaning back leisurely. Everyone turned to face her just as I came panting in.

"Where's Aang?" I asked breathlessly, looking around the group frantically. I leaned down with my hands on my knees and tried to get my breath back. _I really am going soft...in too many ways._

"Exactly what I was about to ask," Toph said as she "glanced" around nervously.

"I thought he was with you!" Zuko cried angrily, giving me a glare that would've singed my eyebrows off if I had really cared.

"Well I fell asleep on a tree branch, _excuse_ me!" I put both hands on my hips and glanced around, my heart still pounding. I wasn't sure if it was from running...or from worry. "I…thought he came back here so I could sleep."

"Well, he's _not_ here."

Suddenly everyone was looking for him. "Aang, Aang?" But somehow I knew that they wouldn't find him. I walked over and petted Appa as he nonchalantly ate his hay, like he didn't have a care in the world.

"I sure wish I was like you, big buddy." He softly growled and nuzzled my hand. "So you think he's gone too, huh?" Something along the line of a whine came from his muzzle. "I'm sorry, Appa. I'll help you find him. But I don't sense him here. They just need to keep looking."

They all came running out, Sokka holding Aang's staff. "Emiko, what are you doing standing around?" he cried, stuffing it into my hands. "We can't find Aang!"

I wanted to tell them that he wasn't there, but I wasn't really sure about that. "Lets check the beach. And then the woods."

It didn't take very long to run to the ocean, and we ended up near some kind of broken dock. Two seagulls were flying, fat and happy, in the sky, and I only wished that I could be like that too.

"Look, there's his footprints!" Katara cried. She followed them, but they were washed out by the shore. "They…end _here_."

Zuko looked at me accusingly. "What, did you guys go for a midnight swim?"

I glared at him. "Oh, and you think that he just never came back? Get your own life, Zuko. It doesn't matter what I do without you."

"You two quit fighting!" Katara cried, pushing us apart. She turned to me with annoyed but worried eyes. "Emiko, I know you are stressed right now, but I need you to help us. What happened when you and Aang were done talking last night?"

I scrunched up my forehead. It was as if she was accusing me of murdering him! "We fell asleep in a tree, damn it! I don't know what happened after that! When I woke up, I thought he had gone on back to camp."

"Maybe he was captured," Toph ventured, but was quickly shot down when Sokka said, "I don't think so. There's no sign of struggle."

"You're right." She bent down and checked the footprints. "I bet he ran away again."

"Yeah, but he wouldn't do that and leave without his glider and Appa," Katara mumbled, looking out onto the sea with sadness.

"Then what do you think happened, Sugar Queen?"

Sokka stood up and threw his hands to the side. "It's obvious! Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle…? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey!"

oOoOo

"This is a huge problem," Zuko mumbled bitterly, mopping his face with his hand in frustration. "Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away!"

"What should we do, then, Zuko?" Katara asked. She sounded quite helpless, but then again I felt that way too. For some reason I felt like it was my fault that he was gone. The others probably thought it too.

We'd searched for hours. And hours. I'd searched through town on Appa, but I hadn't gotten anywhere. Aang's heat signature was unique, I could find it anywhere. But I couldn't find _him_.

Zuko stood up. "I don't know. Why are you all looking at _me?_"

Katara said, "Well, you _are _kind of the expert on tracking Aang," like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah," Toph agreed. "If anyone's got experience in hunting the Avatar, it's you."

Suddenly it was as if a candle was lit in my head. I instantly jumped up and climbed onto Appa's still-exhausted head. "Get on. Get on _now_!"

Zuko seemed to be on the same thinking train. "Emiko's right." _Wow, never thought I'd hear him say that again._ "Come on, let's go!"

As soon as Appa took off, Sokka seemed to become wary of my driving skills. "Um…Emiko? I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom ? There's no way Aang's there."

I smiled brightly, thinking of what was to come. "Oh, just trust me."

oOoOo

As soon as I walked in the door, I knew that who I had come there for was in the room. But Katara still had to contradict me. "And the reason you brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is…what now?" She was looking left and right nervously, warily.

I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest, looking at the spectacle in front of me. "June." And I pointed at my old accomplice.

She was sitting dismissively and sipping her tea, when a huge burly man lunged at her. She instantly stopped him with her leg and pushed him down effortlessly. This made the crowd gasp, and what could June do but smiled at her success?

"Oh yeah," Sokka exclaimed, a little late, "that weird bounty hunter with the mole."

Suddenly another opponent crashed into her bench, breaking it into pieces. The previous opponent had already scrambled away. The man was dropkicked and sent flying across the room. June then dodged a punch and spun away, teacup still in hand.

"It's called a Shirshu," I informed them, pushing through the crowd. "It's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have at finding him."

The same man was throwing drunken punches, idiotically. It narrowly missed her teacup, and she threw it up in the air. She was annoyed that her tea might have to be sacrificed, because it was me that had taught her that good tea should never be wasted.

June sent a kick into his throat, then grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. Seconds later, he landed on a table in the corner of the establishment. She grabbed her falling teacup without spilling a single drop. Then she turned away and drank her tea.

Toph smiled widely, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her."

I smirked and felt as if things were finally going my way. "Oh yeah, I thought you would."

* * *

**I feel like I'm using wayyyy too much dialogue from the actual show. How boring is _that_? I apologize, though, and I hope you like the update. REVEIWS, please! I'm dyin', here!**


	37. Who Are You?

**Doesn't everyone tell you that your Senior year is supposed to be _fun_? Stressful, is more like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, don't sue me. (Please.)**

* * *

**Who Are You?**

June was still beautiful, with pale skin, long, thin black hair, and eyes that could kill you on contact. At the moment, the Gaang was talking about how they remembered her and trying to explain to Toph what had happened. Well, they could thing back on the good old days all they wanted, I was going to talk to my friend!

When I pounded my palm on her table, Jun didn't look up. "Business looks to be a little slow these days," I said slowly, a small smile alighting my face. I shot Zuko a look so that he would stay back. If Jun saw him, I didn't think she'd be too happy.

She looked up as soon as she heard my voice, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "Whoa, Red, what…?" She grabbed my arm and pulled me down next to her. "The last thing I heard of you was that…" One of her hands ruffled through my short hair and she nudged me with her shoulder. "Damn, Red. You're alive. How many lives do you have, exactly?"

"So far? ...Six," I said simply, after thinking for a moment. We both smiled and nudged each other, showing our own brands of affection. "I'm alive and well, June. And much better off then you saw me last time."

The bounty hunter got my meaning. "Oh great. Prince Pouty is here." She glared up to look around, and saw him standing back with the rest of the Gaang. "Where's your creepy grandpa?"

Zuko frowned, and I flinched at the remark. "Don't call him that. He's my uncle, and he's not here."

Seeing the look that I was giving Zuko, June must have known my feelings about Zuko at that moment. Maybe she always had. She glanced at Katara, then back to him. "I see you worked things out with your girlfriend."

They blushed, embarrassed, and I tried not to show how much it hurt. June must have seen right through me because she put a hand on my thigh and squeezed gently—well, gently for _June._

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Jun held her hands out, as if for protection. "Okay, okay, sheesh. I was only teasing." She turned back to me with sincere eyes. "Obviously, there's nothing going on." As if she had to say that, too. "So what's up?"

Zuko didn't give me time to answer. "I need your help finding the Avatar."

My friend thought it over, then downed her tea. "Doesn't sound like too much fun." Then she turned to me and pointed to Suki and Toph. "Who's the broad?"

Toph crossed her arms over her chest, probably sizing my friend up by her 'vibrations.' "Who're you callin' a broad, broad?"

June snorted and took a sip of her tea, leaning back in her chair and relaxing. "I like her, Red. Think she'd be up for some mercenary work? She looks like she could hold her own."

Zuko interrupted once more, obviously mad at the way we kept ignoring him. He put his hands on my shoulder, as if both of us could convince her to help us. I tried to keep from blushing at the warmth of his hands. "Why won't you help us?"

"Calm down, Princey. I already told you that it doesn't sound like fun." She raised her hand for another cup of tea. I sighed, knowing that when June didn't want to do something, she wasn't going to do it.

He tightened his hands on my shoulders, leaning forward over me.. "Does the end of the _world_ sound like more fun ?"

I gave him a look, rolling my eyes, and grabbed June's hand. My friend, never one for physical contact, grimaced but didn't pull away. "June...this will mean a _lot_ to me. Please."

She sighed but stood up and nodded her head to the outside. "Well, come on, then."

**June**

Jun stepped outside and instantly saw that her baby was being growled at by the giant bison. But then…the thing _licked_ Nyla. They both quieted down, to Jun's surprise. And Emiko's, it looked like.

"Nyla," Jun called, smiling at her Shirshu. She threw a piece of meat to it, and it caught the food in one gulp. She stepped forwards and gently stroked the beast's muzzle. "How's my little snuffly wuffly?"

The beast suddenly shot out its tongue, and Jun took a step back to avoid being hit.

"Whoa!" she cried, closing the beast's mouth. "Careful there." Then, turning back to the "Gaang" as they called themselves, she put her hands on her hips and asked, "Okay, who has something with the Avatar's scent on it?"

Katara, the girl who had the necklace Zuko had stolen once upon a time, reached up onto the bison's back. "I have Aang's staff."

Jun turned an eye to her best friend. "You want to do the honors, Emm?"

She smiled and took the staff from Katara, who glared menacingly at the once-redhead. Then, gently petting the beast on the muzzle, Emiko put the staff below Nyla's nose.

Nyla proceeded to sniff and walk around them, and the group followed her movements. Nyla continued circling around them and sniffing out Aang's scent. She made one last round before walking back in front of Jun and lowering herself on the ground and rubbing her snout with her paws.

"Oh, Spirits…" Emiko gasped, her eyes watering up.

"Well, what does that mean?" Zuko asked, just as puzzled as the rest of Emiko's new group.

"It means your friend is gone," Jun said, wanting to comfort Emiko. But the last time she had tried that, it ended up with a few broken noses and hundreds of gold pieces in a tavern's reconstruction.

"We know he's gone," the girl named Toph said smartly. "That's why we're trying to find him."

"No," Jun sighed, shaking her head. "I mean he's _gone_ gone. He doesn't exist."

"What do you _mean _Aang doesn't exist?" the Water Tribe boy named Sokka cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Do you mean he's…you know…_dead?_"

Emiko looked about to faint. "N-no…we could find him if he were…_dead_."

Jun stretched and said, "Ah, this is a real head scratcher." She turned back to her Shirshu. If Nyla couldn't find the boy, Aang, then he wasn't on the earth anywhere. There was no hope for these kids if it really was the end of the world.

Ah, well, she just had to make good of her last few hours then.

"Well, see ya." She winked at Red. "I'll see you with Koh."

She smiled dryly. "You wish."

"I know."

"Helpful," Toph growled, stomping the ground slightly. So, she was an Earthbender too. "Real helpful."

"Wait!" Zuko called. "I have another idea." He turned to them and said, "There's only one other person in the world who can help us face the Fire Lord." He lifted his arm out and faced Jun. "I'll be back with a smell sample."

**Emiko**

I sat under Appa's shadow, not able to sleep. Even after such a long time of traveling, I was only physically tired, not mentally. Aang was nowhere to be found. We were searching after Uncle, now resting outside of Ba Sing Se.

Somewhere near me Sokka was snoring, and next to him was Katara. I had no idea how she could stand it, but I was sure that she'd been living with him for long enough that it was easy to ignore it. Zuko was up on Appa's saddle, tossing in his sleep. I wanted to go up and comfort him, knowing that this was hard on him, but I didn't.

I hoped that I wasn't waking Toph with my fidgeting. She was under her rock tent and I could feel the vibration of her snoring from where I was sitting. I chuckled, loving the obnoxious traits of my best friend.

Suddenly Toph exploded from that tent, and I knew that something was wrong. I stood up as well, fire quickly surrounding our small group. I jumped in the air and stomped my feet down, thrusting my hands out and breaking the wall easily. It just as quickly flew back up.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Toph screamed to everyone who was practically still asleep. Zuko rolled off of Appa and fell to the ground with a shout.

I, on the other hand, was prepared. I sent streams in every direction, knowing where each target was. My streams, hotter than the wall, went through the opposing fire easily. There was an angry growl and the wall turned into an inferno, suddenly tightening to surround me. Zuko, finally off of the ground, was trapped with me. I looked up, seeing a small hole of starlight out of the top of the five-story high fire tornado.

It was hard to breathe, the fire tightening around us. I pushed outward, trying to break the hold, but I couldn't. Zuko tried flying upward, but he couldn't get that high. "Let us go!" The oxygen was slowly sucked out of the tube, pushing me to grasp Zuko. His embrace, once warm and perfect, was scaring me. He didn't have any air, either. "Z-Zuko," I gasped, putting my head into his neck.

"E-Emiko," he sighed, fisting one hand in my hair and shaking. "I-I..."

"Well, look who's here!" cried a maniacle voice, somehow reaching my ears through the fire tornado. "Jeong-Jeong, let them go, won't you? We're all friends here."

The fire quickly diminished, leaving me gasping for breath. "_Koh!_" I grasped Zuko tight, unwilling to let him go. _We could have died...who was attacking us? _ I turned, still holding on to Zuko, to see an old man with a white and blue uniform on, throwing his arms out wide. One of his eyes seemed bigger than the other, and he looked…psychotic.

Sokka and Katara smiled with relief, and they turned to look at each other.

I looked around and saw many older faces. The Waterbending Master, Pakku, from the North Pole was there, as was a dark-skinned man. And then, walking through a wall of flames that had also surrounded the entire campsite, was a man with crazy white hair and scars.

Sokka smiled up to the man with crazy eyes. "So Bumi, how did you end up escaping your imprisonment in Omashu?"

"Escape? I didn't escape, everybody else escaped." He threw his arms up in the air for dramatic effect. "There I was, back in Omashu, waiting for just the right moment. I didn't know what or when but I knew I'd know it when I knew it. An eclipse. That would do it. I escaped and told them that I was taking back my city. They had no fire power and it was payback time!"

"Wow, you took back your whole city all by yourself?" Sokka asked in amazement.

_Yeah, while I lost my baby, Zuko lost everything, and all of our allies became imprisoned,_ I thought sourly, wishing that Bumi had been in the Fire Nation during the Day of Black Sun.

I sighed and leaned up against Zuko a little more. He seemed hesitant, but I just wrapped my arm around him tighter and leaned up my up onto his shoulder. He then relaxed, putting his cheek on my hair while the Gaang and the old men chatted it up.

But there was this _one_ old man. Dressed in what I knew to be a White Lotus uniform, he had dark skin, bright yellow eyes, crazy, wild white hair, and two scars on his face that told of many battles. I thought that I'd seen him somewhere before, but I couldn't be quite sure.

But I knew for sure that he was crazy.

At first, I'd thought he was going to sneeze. His eyes widened after he stared at me for a moment, and he took a breath. And then he screamed, "_Who do you think you are?"_ and instantly charged at me with a wall of fire.

Zuko threw up a flame to protect us, but it was quickly diminished. I threw up my own wall of bright white fire in a last-ditch attempt, but he flew through it. As he landed I jumped, spinned, and then slammed my fists downward, creating a circular wave of flame that spread toward the crazy man. He simply jumped over the attack and then slapped his own hands into the ground, conjuring fire up around my feet. I almost felt the burn before I jumped over it, using my Firebending to get away a little faster.

"Jeong-Jeong, what are you _doing_?" someone called, cries of protest ringing out across the campsite.

The crazy, white-haired man jumped toward me, performing a spinning kick and  
sending a wave of fire at me. Panicking, I kicked behind me and shoot a fireblast from my foot that was rather weak. The two collided and exploded, sending me flying into the large stone wall that one of the men had created.

"I'm one of _you_!" I cried to him, coughing as I felt the large knot forming on the front of my head. I shakily got up and settled down into a weak first position. _This is what it's going to be like on the day of the comet, _I thought, my entire body shaking. _I'm going to be overpowered by a stronger Firebender, and then I'm going to die._

He put a ring of fire around me, starting at where the wall was on my right, going around him, and ending on my left. He then stomped both feet onto the ground, making the fire go sky-high. He was breathing heavily, his yellow eyes wild and crazy, as he came toward me. "Who _are_ you?" he growled, fire lighting up his hands.

There was something about him that scared the Koh out of me. There was an intensity in his eyes that made me want to cower, but I didn't. I stood up straighter, tried to stop shaking, and I managed every part of me except my knees. "I-I am Emiko, Zhaosdaughter." I stood up straight, coming out of my stance, to hold my head high and look him straight in his shocked eyes. "And you?"

He was silent for a long time. The fire behind him flickered, making his hair look like crazy, destructive flames. When he finally spoke, his voice was deep and gruff. "Jeong-Jeong," he said simply, also straightening up. His entire face was stoic except for his angry eyes.

I knew who he was. The Deserter, the first man to ever leave the Fire Nation military and live. I put one fist onto my palm and bowed deeply. "An honor, Sensei." I then straightened up, his eyes once again shocked, and said, "May I ask as to why you decided to attack me?"

The old man—sorry, _Jeong-Jeong—_simply waved his hand and turned around, walking past his fire wall. I stared after him as Aang and Toph came up to me, asking if I was okay, but I shooed them away.

"Wait," I said quickly, pushing past my friends, moving quickly toward him. "Jeong-Jeong!" I grabbed his arm and turned him around to look at his indignant face. We stood there for a moment, my hot hand against his burning arm, and I tried to search his familiar topaz eyes. "Who are you..._really_?"

I thought that his eyes were slightly watering, his eyes taking in my features like a hungry man. One of his hands slowly reached up, his callused fingers touching my cheek reverently. It was a soft touch, one that made tears come to my eyes. His hand cupped my cheek and he whispered, _"Amaterasu..._"

I rolled my lips inward, trying not to cry. "H-how do you know my mother?" Slowly, he pulled me to him, my head in his neck as he wrapped his arms around me. I felt a warm comfort in his embrace, one that reminded me of Iroh. But this man...I didn't know him! "Who...who are you?"

"You are the child of Amaterasu," he said simply, not releasing his hold on me. "And Amaterasu...was _my_ child."

* * *

**Well? Eh? Eh?**


	38. Family

**So, the new picture thing is really cool! As you can see, Emiko with her short hair is ballin' in the pic. If anyone wants to draw me something, I would also consider using it for my cover! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own A:tLA.**

* * *

**Family**

**Zuko**

Zuko had never seen a more beautiful sight. Iroh, completely alive and well. Not imprisoned. Well-fed and fit! Iroh had never looked better...and Zuko had never felt worse. The old man was asleep on his pallet in his own White Lotus tent. Zuko knelt next to him, his head bowed as he thought of all he had done to deserve immortal hatred from the man he thought of as a real father.

Suddenly Iroh started to yawn and stretch. Zuko contemplated leaving before the old man woke, but it was too late as he turned to look at Zuko with drowsy eyes. Those Fire Nation eyes, so similar to Zuko's, widened before Iroh turned his head to the side, completely ignoring the prince.

_How could I be so stupid_? Zuko wondered, tears brimming in his eyes. He closed them to keep them from falling. "I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me. But I want you to know, I'm so, _so_ sorry, Uncle. I'm so sorry and ashamed of what I did." He couldn't help it anymore. Tears ran down his face and his shoulders shuddered. "I don't know how I can ever make it up to you, you _or_ Emiko, but I'll—"

Suddenly Iroh pulled him in, wrapping his arms around the younger man and holding him. Zuko had never felt so loved. The warm embrace of his Uncle made him feel wanted...it also made him feel even worse about how he had treated the wise old man. "I thought you would have been furious with me...Emiko still is, she...I..._how can you forgive me so easily_?"

"I was never angry with you," Iroh said in that low, rumbling voice of his. It was music to Zuko's ears. "I was sad because I was afraid you lost your way."

"I did," Zuko said simply, frowning as he wiped the tears away from his face. "I left you both alone. Emiko was so scared, and you, you were tortured and imprisoned. I'm so sorry, Uncle!"

Iroh's eyes looked both sad and proud at the same time. "But you found your way again and that is what matters. And you did it by yourself."

Zuko couldn't take the credit. "I had Emiko, Uncle. And I ruined it all."

"Where is she now, my son?" Iroh's eyes looked pained and empty as he asked this question. Zuko knew how much his Uncle loved Emiko, how much he wanted her to be safe and have a normal life. As soon as this war was over...he would make things right.

Zuko stood up and pulled open the side curtain. "Right there." She was training with Jeong-Jeong and Aang, a serious look on her pale, beautiful face. She'd lost so much weight—she looked hawk-like, predatory, with narrowed yellow eyes, thin eyebrows, and her short hair. It had grown out over her forehead and she swept it to the side.

She was wearing a White Lotus uniform, similar to the older men's but without the white collar. Instead, a sash was across her shoulders with a white flame printed on it. It was long and blue on her frame, a grey sash around her waist. The uniform had a slit up the side so that she could move easier. Zuko knew that she was partially spiritual...was that the reason she was a member?

"She's beautiful," Iroh breathed, his eyes watering as he smiled in pride. But then he became confused and he grabbed his chest, right over his heart. "The baby...?"

Zuko's heart panged as well and he shook his head, closing his eyes. Iroh just groaned and placed his head in his hands.

**Emiko**

I felt like every set of eyes in the encampment were on me, burning through the fabric of my tent. I hadn't spoken to the Gaang since what I was now calling "the incident." Secretly, I was fuming. And I was scared. Who did that man think he was? It wasn't like some old guy could just waltz up to me and declare that he was my grandfather.

Where had he _been_ all my life? When my mother had died, my life suddenly had belonged to

Koh. He could have come and found me. He could have set things straight then. Maybe nothing would have turned out the way it was now.

I sighed and shifted in my meditating position, ignoring the sound of Aang practicing outside with Jeong-Jeong, as if my and Zuko's teaching skills hadn't been enough. I felt as though I was in another cage set by my father, but now he was older...with a beard.

How did someone react to something like that? "Oh, I'm your grandfather. You now must do everything I say because we are related and you know nothing of Firebending! Nothing!" Well, I had something to say to him!

Once again, I fidgeted, unable to continue my train of thought. It wasn't fair to him, what I was thinking. He'd lost his daughter, his career, and his Nation all in the same time frame. While he had been mourning, he had also been deserting the Fire Nation and its military. It wasn't his fault.

But still, couldn't he have sought me out? I was his only grandchild...as far as I knew. Actually, I wasn't even sure if my mother had siblings.

That made me groan and fall backward, throwing my hands over my face. None of this was helping me concentrate. We would have to face the Fire Lord all too soon and I was still dealing with my own personal baggage.

How did one go up to their long-lost grandfather, I wondered. Did I walk up and give him a hug and ask for candy? Did I expect a hand on the back for all I've accomplished? Actually, from what I'd seen so far of the old man, all I really expected was a few condescending words and a 'lesson' in Firebending.

"What do I do?" I asked aloud, scrubbing my face with my hands. I was an adult, a full-grown adult with Firebending powers from the spirits and a temper to match, and yet I couldn't face an old man with greying hair.

I decided to get up, get over it, and go outside to see if my..._grandfather_...needed help training Aang. Pulling apart the curtain of the tent I'd been given, sunlight shined over me. I felt slightly strengthened and empowered from the fire. In front of me was my grandfather on the ground, trying to sweep the Avatar's feet out from under him.

Aang jumped in the air, using his bending to evade the gouts of fire. Jeong-Jeong leapt up and performed two spinning Firebending kicks, which Aang blocked with two arms suddenly covered in a protective rock coating. The older man then followed up with two Firebending punches, but missed as Aang sped around the old man, keeping the Avatar out of the old man's reach.

I continued watching in amazement as the two masters traded shots. Neither of them lost focus, neither lost their cool. Every time Jeong-Jeong missed, he wouldn't even flinch or put anger into his punch. This went on for a while until finally Aang ended up with his fist at Jeong-Jeong's throat.

"Very good, Avatar," he said simply, returning to the first stance. Then he said no more as he started in basic Firebending moves, flowing through them almost as if he were Waterbending. Aang followed up behind him.

Seeing the way that they both moved together made me feel almost inadequate. I had been training in Firebending for almost fifteen years. Aang had only been training one, and yet he was almost better than I was. I felt the sudden urge to join them.

I then stepped in behind my grandfather. Aang didn't look too surprised, but my grandfather stopped for a moment. He didn't say anything as he stopped and stood with both fists clenched. His eyes roamed me from head to toe. I suddenly felt self-conscious about my short hair and my White Lotus robes.

He then turned his nose in the air and kept practicing, ignoring my presence. My face flaming, I set into the first stance and flowed with both the Avatar and my grandfather, never feeling the two sets of eyes that stared at me from behind.

"You are very powerful for your age," Jeong-Jeong said a much longer time later, moving right beside me. Aang had long since left to practice the other elements. His familiar Fire Nation eyes wouldn't meet mine, but I looked at his haggard face and tried to find a trace of my mother in his face. "Your mother...she was never forced to learn at a fast pace as you have had to. She also had your grandmother, Spirits rest her soul, and myself to learn from."

Tears pricked my eyes, but I turned my face away and extended my arms, following his motions step for step. "I don't remember much of her. I was so young when..."

"When the white fire took her from this world," he said softly, simply, his face holding a far-off look. We were both silent for a moment as we thought this over. I wondered if he knew that it had been my fault my mother had been killed. I decided not to bring it up at the moment. "She was beautiful. Head-strong. Stubborn."

I couldn't help a watery smile. "Sounds familiar."

"She had a weak spot for people who needed..._fixing_. Thus explaining your father." He sounded bitter on this last part, making me stop and turn to look the old man in the face. I thought that I had seen a piece of my mother in him, but not anymore.

My teeth hurt from grinding them in anger. "Don't speak ill of my father or the dead. He was a wonderful father when it counted. He took care of three children in my mother's stead. Where were _you_, I wonder? Where were you when everything fell apart and I needed guidance!"

He smirked in a way that suggested he thought me simple. Like he wanted to pat me on the head and explain things slowly. "You know nothing, Emiko."

"I know that I had no clue who or what I was, _Jeong-Jeong._" I couldn't bring myself to call him 'grandfather' yet. There was something about him that reminded me of my father, the _bad_ side of my father. "I know that I was left alone on multiple occasions, scared and alone at this power coursing through my veins. You were the only family who really knew what I was going through and I never even knew you existed! Mother never spoke of you, Father never mentioned you, how was I supposed to know _anything_?"

Jeong-Jeong stopped moving as well, looking at me curiously. His momentary confusion made me growl and breathe fire from my nose, trying to let off steam. I suddenly felt confined in my new uniform, in this camp, and I wanted to bend until I couldn't anymore. His eyes suddenly widened in confirmation. "The comet is close."

"You're telling me this now?" I asked with a laugh, starting to move again, faster, using harder techniques and hotter fire. "I know. My blood is boiling. I'm ready."

His hand was suddenly on my shoulder, holding me still and making me shudder from anger, agony, and everything in between. "You are your mother's daughter, your grandmother's granddaughter... Of course you are ready." I wanted to push off his hand, but I couldn't find the energy to do it. "I am...sorry...that I was not there for you when I could be. I am thankful that Iroh was."

I knew that I needed to face Iroh. I just wasn't sure that I could. I missed him fiercely and I wanted to hug him and never let him go. But I didn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes now that I was no longer with Zuko...now that I had lost my baby.

"You need to go see him," Jeong-Jeong said softly, not meeting my eyes when I turned to look at him. He did remove his hand, though, and looked rather uncomfortable.

I nodded and then as a second thought bowed respectfully. "Thank you...Grandfather."

Now, finally, he looked at me. I saw a small speck of wonder in his eyes before he coughed to hold back a smile. "Good. Now, go. I must meditate."

"Can I join you later?"

He looked a little rattled that I'd asked him this. "It is called meditation, girl! I cannot have a child interrupting me!"

I smiled at his frazzled-ness and shook my head. I may never be close to my grandfather, but I knew that we could eventually get along. "Of course. I'll be there later, anyway."

**Iroh**

She was such a beautiful sight. He had never been more proud than to see her in her honorary White Lotus uniform, meant only for the Sun Spirit. Yue had obtained one as well, for the Moon Spirit, but had passed before she was able to wear it. They were the only known Spirits on the ground, and thus were members automatically.

But seeing Emiko actually wearing the uniform, looking healthy, if not a bit skinny, was a sight for his sore eyes. At the moment she was sitting next to him, not willing to interrupt his meditation. Instead, she joined him. Half of the candles around him had turned a bluish-white from her presence, growing to three times their heights.

"Time is growing close, my child," Iroh said after a few moments of silence. He couldn't open his eyes in fear that he would cry. This girl had lost a child, and by doing so, so had Iroh.

The temperature rose by many degrees as she took a deep breath and released it. "I know. I can feel the power burning in me each day we move toward the day of the comet. I don't know what to do with all of this energy. I haven't slept in days, but I'm not tired. I keep practicing...it helps, but I can't get rid of this _burning_."

Iroh nodded, his face solemn. "You are becoming closer to the Spirits. They are filling you with power. Not only is the comet giving you power, because every Firebender can feel it approaching, but as the Sun Spirit, you are given much more than that."

She was silent for a moment, the only sound in the tent being that of the crackling candles and their flames. "Uncle...will I see my mother when the time comes?"

"Maybe. You may see older reincarnations. This has happened for generations, Emiko. And it will continue to happen until the end of time or until the world is cut off from the Spirits indefinitely."

Emiko took another deep breath, smoke falling from her nose as she fidgeted. "I cannot sit still, anymore, Uncle. I feel as though I'm going to explode!"

Iroh finally opened his eyes and turned to look at her. Emiko's eyes were glowing almost white, looking almost uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat. "You will be leaving soon enough, unless you want to stay and help the Order."

She stared straight ahead, into the fire, still not looking at him. Her body was tense all over as she fought to control something. "I think I will stay, Uncle. I can't do anything else for the Avatar."

Iroh reached for her hand. Even though all Firebenders had higher temperatures than most, he almost pulled away from how scalding her hand was. "I will be honored to have you fight at my side."

Finally her blazing eyes turned to his. She was unbelievably pale, but a glow was starting underneath her skin. "And I will be honored to be there."

"I have missed you, Emiko."

She was silent for a moment, turning her eyes away. She did not release his hand. Rather, she tightened her grip. "Uncle...I'm very sorry for everything that has happened. I have missed you too. I wish I could have protected you, Zuko, Aang..." She suddenly put a hand on her stomach, her eyes squinting as if she were about to cry. "Everyone."

Iroh then wrapped one arm around her shoulder, putting his other hand on hers that was lying on her stomach. He felt a lump in his throat as he thought of the child she would have had—boy or girl, it would have been beautiful. "It was not your fault. The Day of Black Sun was difficult for every Firebender, moreso to you. We were all trying to save ourselves."

"I am living with the pain," she said simply, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I don't know how, but I am."

"That's all we can do at times." Just having her in his arms made him feel complete again. He knew that she had a long few days ahead of her and that nothing would ever be the same again. All the same, he would never change Emiko. Losing the child had changed her. Whether for good or bad, she would always be the girl he wanted her to be.

**Emiko**

The night had been long. For the second week in a row, I hadn't been able to sleep. I'd eventually gone for a run, trying not to wake anyone up. I'd run for miles and miles, not caring about where I was going or what I was doing. By the time I'd returned, I wasn't out of breath or even sweaty. In fact, I was perfectly fine.

But the power was still there.

It was driving me crazy. I felt like flames were licking at every part of my body. I was tingling with power, making me itch and paranoid. I then realized that I hadn't eaten in two days and I wasn't hungry. What was this comet _doing_ to me?

The camp was having breakfast when I returned. None of the Order looked at me strangely as I came back in just a black breast-wrap and black, baggy training pants. I almost wanted to run around naked...why was I so _warm_?

I walked onto the Gaang having breakfast with Iroh. I started pacing around the campfire, watching it react to my presence. I frowned and ignored the strange looks that my companions were giving me.

"Emiko," Sokka said slowly, his eyes wide with confusion, "you're...glowing."

"Am I?" I asked with a slightly crazed laugh. "I didn't notice." I was too busy burning up from the inside-out. "Zuko, do you feel as though you are about to _burn to a crisp_?"

He nodded solemnly, barely touching his food. "It's the comet." That was all he said, but I could see that this was bothering him as well. Had he slept at all? Or was it just me that was completely psychotic?

Aang reached for me, but I flinched away from his grasp. "Emiko, you've got to calm yourself."

I couldn't have him touch me. I knew that just one touch from him while I was in this state would send me back to the Spirit World...and I _so_ didn't need that. "If you were in my shoes, you would understand. I feel as though hundreds of thousands of fires are being put to every part of my skin, my insides, my _brain_..." I then screamed and sent a stream of fire from my mouth into the air.

Everyone looked to Iroh and asked if I would be okay. I didn't listen to their fears, I just kept pacing, not being able to stop. "She will be fine as soon as the comet gets here. Until then..."

"I'm going to be uncomfortable and feel as though I'm being cooked alive?" I asked, not expecting an answer. I saw it in his eyes.

Zuko sighed and ran both hands through his hair. "Emiko, you're our secret weapon. But will it be enough? Will you be able to fight when the time comes?"

Fire instantly appeared on my arms, licking up my body and almost cooling my inflamed skin. "Koh, _yes_. I will be."

"Would you be able to face Ozai?"

Looking at Zuko's face, my own burning with my flames, set the hatred for Ozai even deeper in my soul. That man had burned him. He had beaten and abused Zuko, not only physically but mentally as well. Zuko was nothing to that man. Even though we were in a fight at the moment, I knew that I would do anything for this man. My voice didn't sound my own when I said, "_Yes._"

He nodded, not looking surprised at my flame-covered body. Everyone else looked panicked as the Prince said, "Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Fire Lord. We need you to come with us."

Obviously Uncle hadn't told Zuko that I wasn't going with the Gaang. I was staying with Uncle and the Order, and Uncle wasn't going with the Avatar.

The old man set his bowl down, obviously also not able to finish his food. I could sense the fire building within every Firebender in the camp. "I cannot."

"What?" his nephew asked, suddenly sitting straighter. Fire burned in his topaz eyes. "What do you mean you can't come with us! Aang refuses to kill him. You and Emiko can beat him and we will be there to help!"

Suddenly, I felt as if I were not in my own body anymore. I couldn't speak, but someone was speaking for me. "_I cannot risk this weak, mortal body,_" a voice, such like my own but not quite, said as I continued to burn. "_And Iroh cannot kill his brother. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord._" Agni, I couldn't move! _Give me back my body!_ For a moment I could move again and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Iroh shook his head. "No matter how horrid my brother was, I do not think I could kill him. And the Spirit is correct. Emiko cannot face Ozai and I cannot come with you. She cannot face Ozai without fear of her body being destroyed."

"Then, though," Zuko said softly, leaning down and clasping his hands together, "then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?"

I'd completely forgotten about the throne. Who would take Ozai's place when all of this was done? Zuko had been gone so long, and Iroh was so old...would either of them work on the throne?

"No." Zuko looked up in shock, his eyes wide as he was momentarily stunned by his uncle's words. "Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko."

He shook his head, saying 'no' over and over again. "I've made too many mistakes."

"Yes, you have," I said simply, stopping my pacing for a moment. The fire finally went out on my body, making the Gaang look relieved. "But you will be the best choice to help restore the Fire Nation. You just need a little help."

Iroh nodded. "I will be glad to be your adviser, my nephew."

I also looked him straight in the eye, not letting him look away. He didn't look able to move his eyes from mine. "The Sun Spirit will also be in her rightful place...in the Fire Nation."

"I'll...I'll try, Emiko. I'll try, Uncle." His face was so sincere...I knew that I had to help him. And I would. How could I stay away from the man I loved? He'd grown so much. He'd learned over the two years we'd known each other.

Sokka cleared his throat, making Zuko and I break eye contact. He looked downtrodden...and I felt upset for hurting him. I'd promised Katara that I wouldn't. But I didn't love Sokka. He was a very good friend...he just wasn't my destiny. "What if Aang doesn't come back?"

My Uncle stood, silent for a moment, and looked over the group standing before him. "Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang _will_ face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

"The Order of the White Lotus has been gathered to take back Ba Sing Se," I said simply, lacking in my garb but feeling rather important as I stood before them. "I will be accompanying them."

"No," Zuko said simply, also standing up. He once again held my gaze. "I need someone to return with me to the Fire Nation. Azula will be waiting...and I want you to be there to help me put her in her place."

He moved closer, making me unsure of myself. "I can't. Azula is so strong, Zuko...I can't lose my mortal body."

One of his hands came up and cupped the side of my face. I put my hand over his and leaned into his touch. "I will be there to protect you. I need you there, Emiko."

I then leaned out of his touch and looked to Uncle, asking his permission. With a nod, he dismissed me from the Order of the White Lotus. Suddenly I felt empowered as I smiled at Zuko. "I would like nothing more than to take down that _bitch_ for what she did to me...and what she has done to you."

"What about us?" Sokka asked, gesturing to himself, Katara, and Toph. "What's our destiny today."

"That," came a familiar female voice, "is whatever you think it is." Everyone turned to see Naomi and Ryuu walk up, packs in hand as they made their way towards the group.

"Ryuu!" I cried, pushing away from the group and running to tackle him in a hug. He must have been suffocating from my heat, but I didn't care. I held him close and hugged him tight. "What are you doing here? Where are the babies? How did you get here? Why are you— We have a grandfather!"

He laughed and nudged me to shut me up. "The babies are with the Swamp people. We were hesitant to leave them at first, but they've raised plenty of kids. Besides, we couldn't let you have all the fun. And what's this about a grandfather?"

Toph and Naomi had instantly gotten together, smiling and talking about exactly how they would Earthbend the nearest Firebenders around them. Everyone seemed rather happy to see them. Ryuu had been surprised that Jeong-Jeong was our grandfather, but he seemed relatively happy to meet the man. Now I could see the resemblance of our families.

It didn't last long until we had to continue our conversation. "So, what you're saying," Sokka said, rubbing his chin, "is that even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."

Naomi nodded, her green eyes flashing mischievously. "And that means when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if he needs us." Both Earthbenders looked at each other and bumped fists together.

"You'll need rides," Iroh said innocently, a bit of a sparkle in his eyes.

oOoOo

"Nothing runs faster over land or swims quicker than a giant eel-hound." Standing in front of me were many long, green, slimy animals big enough to ride on. I'd ridden on a Shirshu...but dang! Piando handed Sokka a roll of paper which I knew to be a map. "The airship base is on a small island just off the Earth Kingdom shore. You should be able to intercept the fleet within a day's journey."

Sokka nodded, Katara sitting behind him, and bowed his head to the older man. "Thank you, Master."

I nodded solemnly to my brother, feeling the fire burning higher within him. Naomi and he were seated on their own hound. Toph, on the ground, was traveling by Earthbending. I watched them all drive off and sighed, bowing my head to pray to the Spirits just for a moment.

Iroh was then next to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Keep the Spirits at bay for as long as possible. And whatever you do, do not let Azula harm your mortal vessel."

The fire burned too high in me once more. My body was taken over shortly as the Spirit within me said, "_Of course, Dragon. Obviously I need this body. I'm a little...attached._" So, the Spirit was sarcastic. Great.

I came back to myself in time to give Iroh a hug, squeezing his no-longer-chubby midsection. "I'm going to miss you, Uncle."

"It will not be for long. I will see you again soon." He kissed me on my forehead before giving me a boost up onto Appa. "Goodbye. Today, destiny is our friend...I know it."

* * *

**So, I know I've been gone...but I'm so close to the end that I can taste it! Keep in tune for the next episode of DotS! Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this story. Not only am I over 100 reviews, but I am also over 200,000 words! Thanks, everyone! **


	39. The Final Battle

**This story has been a long time in the making, folks. Thanks for sticking around and see you all next time! **

**(Don't worry, there's still another chapter.)**

* * *

**The Final Battle**

Zuko and I sat back-to-back on Appa, looking out over the sunset as we flew over the Fire Nation. I felt myself slipping away ever so slowly as the comet approached. I never knew if I was looking through my eyes or if someone else was...some_thing_ else was.

"Appa can't keep flying," Zuko whispered to me, still breathing heavily. He was feeling the effects of the comet just as I was...I just hoped that I could keep my body long enough to fight Azula. I wanted to kill her with my own hands. "We need to land. The comet will be here tomorrow morning."

I nodded and gritted my teeth, ready to use my Firebending until my body turned to ash. I was afraid that if I spoke, fire would exit my maw. Or...I would jump in the lake and extinguish myself. Maybe it would help or maybe I would evaporate all of the water in the lake—whichever one worked.

Zuko sighed and moved to lay Appa down in a clearing in the woods, the lake nearby. Instantly, I was on the ground, pacing, jumping up and down, and feeling as though I was about to crawl out of my skin. I kept hearing voices in my head as the rift between the Spirit World and ours thinned and tore.

"Do you still not want to talk to me?" he asked softly some time later as they sat side by side, unable to sleep next to the snoring Appa. He was looking up at the sky, where only stars showed. The moon was completely new. The only light around us was the fire ten feet away (for Appa) and the soft glow I'd been emitting.

I looked to his profile, the side without the scar, and wondered how we'd gotten to the point that he had to ask me that question. "I...I do," I said softly, my voice gravelly from the need to breathe fire. "I was just worried that I would burn down the forest if I opened my mouth." As I said that, a small stream of fire escaped and I clamped my hands over my mouth in surprise.

We looked at each other, completely silent for a moment, before we both burst out laughing, bursting out little fireballs from our mouths. The laugh felt better than all the training and running the in world. We were both on our backs, glancing at each other and smiling by the time we were done.

The silence went on as I stared into his beautiful topaz eyes. His face, both sides, was beautiful, strong, and full of emotion for me. "I still love you," I whispered to him, my hand finding his in the grass next to mine.

His eyes never left mine as he brought our hands up and kissed the back of mine. "I never stopped. Emiko...about...about everything...I'm—"

My kiss caught him off guard. I'd leaned up and gently placed mine against his, my hand on his chest, moving up to cup his cheek. His lips, so warm and wonderful, molded against mine as I breathed into his mouth, stretching my lips to taste more of him.

I pulled back and looked into those eyes that I fell in love with, smiling softly at him and running my thumb along his scar. My heat had been momentarily forgotten as I'd thought of nothing but him. "You don't need to explain anything to me, Zuko. You had some things that you needed to work out. All that matters, all that _counts_, is that you're here now."

He nodded seriously and moved to get up, shaking his head. "You don't know how much that means to me." Then he held out his hand and pulled me along with him. He looked back at me for a moment before standing on the shore of the lake, nothing but my glow to light the way. It was an incline into the water, small cliffs on either side as the water got deeper each step a person would take. "I thought that I'd lost you after Ba Sing Se."

He did, not that I was going to tell him that. He'd lost me and later, a child. But I didn't want to talk about that. I leaned up and kissed him again, feeling the heat disappear again as my lips moved against his rough ones.

Zuko suddenly pulled away and took deep breaths, leaning up against a tree near him with his back to me. "What's wrong?" I asked, reaching forward and putting my hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged it off and turned around, fire in his eyes and his breath still heavy. "I want you _so bad,_ but your skin..._burns_!" He grabbed my face anyway and forced his lips onto mine, groaning as the heat from my skin scalded him. The pain became too much after a moment of intensity and he pulled away, cursing Agni under his breath.

I slowly pulled away my Fire Nation top, leaving me in my breast binder. Then, while he was still turned around, I pulled down my pants and took off all underthings. Then I turned my back on him and walked into the water.

Although I hated water, there was nothing to do about the heat besides getting in. The water hissed against my skin until I cooled off considerably, my hips and legs below the water. I looked up to the sky once more to watch as comets flew by, fragments of the actual thing that would be there in the morning.

Before I knew it, Zuko came up behind me and kissed against my shoulder, his breathing still heavy. His kisses were short and tempting, especially as he bit at my ear and his hand landed on my stomach, moving slowly down my abdomen. His bare chest was against my back, his naked form pressed tightly against me. Now he was hotter than I was and it was _maddening_.

I gently rolled my hips back against his, biting my lip to keep from moaning. His cock pressed between my folds as we both rolled and moved with the waves. Then his fingers were touching me, moving in circles and igniting a different kind of fire in me.

I gasped and started breathing heavier, the spring inside of me winding tighter and tighter as he rubbed me. He started whispering all of the different things he wanted to do to me while we were both overwhelmed by the heat, pushing me forward until I was pushed up against the cliff wall. His hips bucked hard, pushing me against his hand harder and making me cry out as I came closer and more frantic.

Finally I couldn't help it—I had to have him inside of me, moving, _taking_ me. I pushed away from the wall and turned around, jumping up on him and wrapping my arms around him, my legs around his waist, and sunk down onto him. We both groaned as he pushed me against the wall, deeply embedded inside of me.

I then leaned forward and put my forehead to his as he started rocking inside of me. I couldn't believe that I'd gone so long without this, without him, without this _feeling_. There was nothing better than being close to him, than loving him and being _one_ with him.

He rocked and brought me closer as each thrust got harder and needier, racing towards release. He kept whispering into my ear, gasping and moaning as I pushed my breasts against his chest and pulled us closer. His mouth pressed against my neck and he bit down, trying to keep from shouting. I, though, couldn't help it, and kept shouting _"Yes, Zuko, yes...faster, Zuko...I love you...Zuko!"_ His hips kept rolling, bucking, taking me as I clenched down around him and screamed his name to Agni.

My toes curled against the backs of his thighs and my nails dug in around his back and neck, my mouth open in a silent scream. His hands squeezed my ass and pulled me down onto him quicker, trying to finish for himself and moving through my aftershocks.

I rode him and he somehow kept going and going. I urged him on, ignoring the rocks to my back, planting hungry kisses against his neck and face. I took special care of his scar and eye. It was a part of him as much as my love for him was a part of me.

We were two shadows in the night as our frantic movements turned slow and loving. Our foreheads touched, our eyes met each other, and I knew that I was with the one person that I couldn't live without.

The heat in me was almost extinguished as he finished for himself, groaning and whispering my name as I squeezed him of his last seed. I smiled and leaned my head in his neck, which was sweaty and cool now that we'd been in the freezing water for a while.

Zuko let me down slowly, leaning back against the wall with me on his chest. He was breathing heavily, his eyelids drooping. "I...I think I can sleep now," he said, planting a kiss on the side of my face.

The energy was still coursing through me—not as powerfully, but it was still there. "I won't be able to. But I will watch over you if you want to sleep." I turned my head and gave him a soft peck on the cheek, moving out of his arms.

He chuckled and followed slowly. I tried not to watch as he got changed, but I loved his body. I loved _him_. He settled down on the ground next to Appa, beckoning me over. I wasn't sure if I could stay stationary for very long, but I sat there, letting him rest his head in my lap. I drew my fingers through his hair, smiling at the softness and silky texture.

His eyes met mine once more before he closed his. "Emiko...do you think I can do it?"

I wasn't quite sure. But I was going to be there, too. "If not, then I will be there to help you."

"Did I tell you I loved you, yet?" his raspy voice asked, his hand reaching up to run a thumb over my cheek.

I leaned into his touch and smiled, nodding. "Yes, you did. Now, sleep, my Prince. Tomorrow dawns a new day."

**oOo**

The sky was blazing red by the time we made it to the capitol. I stood on Appa's seat, the wind blowing through my short hair, my hawk eyes narrowing in on every detail. I could see everything with clarity—the world was mine and I was going to take control of it bit by bit.

"Are you ready?" Zuko asked from behind me.

I didn't answer. I let the fire that surrounded me flare up. Appa, beneath us, shifted uncomfortably. Zuko put a comforting hand on the beast's hide, warning me to calm myself. "I'll be fine. The second I see your sister's face is when I'll let loose some of this tension."

"Let me deal with her," he said simply, death in his eyes. "She's mine."

Something about that made me angry inside. I clenched my hands and bounced my knees, trying to stow it away. "I don't know if I'll be able to hold myself back. Not with what she's done to you."

"And that's why she's mine."

**oOo**

_The ceremonial plaza looked the same as it had one hundred years ago. The Fire Lord was coronated here—his children were bathed in flame—the loss of his life was mourned. From beginning to end, it symbolized everything about him and this nation. And it was getting ready to do so again._

_Ducts of water streamed on both sides of the arena. The plaza steps led up up to a ring of hazy fire with a girl sitting in the middle. She was wreathed in Fire Lord robes with ceremonial armor underneath. She was becoming the new Fire Lord._

"We can't let Azula do this," _Emiko said weakly, her body collapsed on the ground. She lay on her back, staring up into the vast, white room that was Agni's temple. She could still see what was going on...but her spirit was housed in the temple until the comet passed._

"We'll get her, my child," _Zaire said, wetting a cloth and putting it to her forehead. _"All of us together." _Dozens of Sun Spirit entities traveled around in white robes, gathering weapons and summoning spirits to help for the coming battle. They were readying the troops and preparing the others for a battle that could change the world._

_Emiko tried to sit up, but she instantly paled and lowered herself back to the ground. _"Why am I so weak?"

_Zaire caressed her granddaughter's cheek and smiled. Their human forms were all related somehow, but their spirits were almost the same entity. _"Because we need your body today. This is the only time we can truly help you...and the only time you will need our help."

"Are you my mother's mother?" _the beautiful young girl asked, her yellow eyes slowly opening in the bright light of the temple. _

"That I am."

_The young girl smiled and then gently grasped Amaterasu's hand. _"She loved you a lot."

"She loved you, too. And I love both of you. But the curse of a Spirit is to love but never live with their children. Very few actually have. Though you, my child, you will live with your children. A temple will be built in your honor and times will change. You will die young, yes, but we all do. The spirit has a taxing toll on human bodies."

_She turned her head and looked around. _"So you live here when your human form passes?"

_Zaire nodded. Her mother, and the one before her, came over and started tending to the girl. _"This is Agni's temple in the Spirit World."

"Where's my mother?" _The sadness in her eyes hurt all of them._

"Your mother is controlling your body at the moment. It is taking all of her energy to do so. After all, she is the current Sun Spirit. We merely stay here and fuel her energy. We are all feeling the pull of her power."

_Both of them looked out to see Azula being crowned by one of the Fire Sages. The diadem was right above her head. _"By the degree of Phoenix King Ozai, I now crown you Fire Lord—" _But he paused._

_Emiko smirked and finally sat up. All of the other spirits stopped what they were doing and turned to face Emiko. _"It's time," _she said, a familiar burning in her eyes. _ "Let's kill this bitch!"

**oOo**

It was different to be in a mortal body again. It'd been years since she'd moved around in one, saw through its eyes. It took her a second to realize how to bend the fingers on the hands and turn the head. But as soon as she figured out what it was, she smirked and looked down on the pathetic "princess" and her Fire Sages.

"What are you waiting for?!" she yelled, her eyes wide with a psychotic hate. "Do it!"

"_She's going to die very soon,_" the Spirit said simply, figuring out how to smile.

"Emiko?" a male voice next to the vessel said. She turned and looked at the handsome man, his eyes almost as bright as Agni's. If not for the scar, he would be the most handsome man she'd ever seen. "What are you...?"

"_I'm not Emiko, Hotcakes. But you seem to care for her. Just watch my back...and stay out of my way." _She loved the feeling of her vocal cords ringing with power, of the fire growing within her. It'd been so long since she'd had a body to control.

The young man had the gall to grasp the vessel's arm. She glared at him with all the fire in her being. "I don't know who you are, but Azula's mine. And if you hurt Emiko..."

"_I won't, but you had better keep up, son." _The woman then surrounded herself in a tornado of flame and was shot down at the coronation ceremony. The Fire Sages stepped forward, as if to protect their soon-to-be-Fire-Lord, but the vessel smiled again and sent her flames into the buildings on either side of the arena, trapping everyone inside.

The boy traveling with the vessel and the flying behemoth they had both been riding on landed next to them. Instantly, the beast took off as soon as the man stepped down. " Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today. I am." Amaterasu felt something course through her, very foreign—admiration? Pride?

"You're hilarious," the psychotic woman said. "It's you and Emiko versus me and twenty of the world's best Firebenders."

"_I am not Emiko," _the vessel told her simply, the fire around them swirling until it created a dome over the entire courtyard. "_I am Amaterasu, Spirit of Fire, of the Sun, and the one who blessed you with such power. I can just as easily take it away." _The Fire Sages tried to advance, but a glare from the vessel made them all cower. "_Those of you who supposedly serve my eternal husband... Be gone from this place! This fight does not concern you, nor shall it ever. Leave here or face His wrath!"_

The vessel could see the paranoia in the Princess's eyes as the Sages fled from her back. "If I have to fight a spirit, then I will!"

"_You shouldn't have said—"_

"No!" the male shouted, stepping forwards to be ahead of the vessel. "This is my battle. Emiko...Spirit...whoever you are, you will have to let me battle if this is an Agni Kai."

The Princess scoffed and glared dementedly at him. "Well then, brother...if you want to be Fire Lord, we will! Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

The Spirit looked to the man incredulously. She was getting flashbacks from the vessel's memory of love, arguments, pain, and togetherness. Also of a long, tragic past. His name was Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation...lover to the vessel. She really thought that she should stop calling it 'the vessel.' Considering it was her daughter's body, and all.

Amaterasu, the one controlling the body, narrowed her eyes at the Crown Prince. "_If you do this, Prince, I cannot help you. I brought the Agni Kai into existence and am bound by its laws. She won't be able to take us both...this is a way of separating us. My mortal vessel won't be strong enough if I'm hit."_

"Don't get hit," he said simply enough. "But I'm stronger. I can take her. I'm not sure why, but there's something off about her, I can't explain it but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt. I won't let her or _you_ destroy the body of the woman I love."

"_Just live with the consequences if you destroy your body in her place."_

He looked pensive, but moved to go to the other side of the courtyard. He removed his shirt and knelt, his back to the center. That was when Amaterasu felt her control of the body slipping. Someone else was trying to take control—possibly an older Spirit wanting to monitor the battle. And, while she wouldn't have normally minded, this was _her daughter's _body and she deserved to be the one to help.

Unfortunately, her battle was lost. She watched from the sidelines as she could no longer control what was happening. The body ran to Zuko's side, kneeling next to it and crying, "Zuko, no! You said it yourself that you would need someone's help to defeat Azula!"

"Emiko," he sighed in relief, one of his hands coming up to touch her cheek. "You're back."

"Not for long," she said in reply, gently kissing his forehead. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you, no matter what happens, alright?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, holding her a little tighter.

"I don't know what's going to happen to me once this comet is gone. But promise me that you will kill this bitch who has ruined our lives. I want you to fuel all of your passion and love, not your hate, and win this for me." She brought him closer and kissed him with all of her love for him. When a Spirit found her mate, it was difficult to say goodbye. They were protective of them and their emotions were skewed. This was how Amaterasu knew that Emiko had found her life mate.

"_Time to fight, Hotcheeks,"_ she told him, patting his cheek and moving out of the way. "_Don't die."_

"Great advice," he replied sarcastically, but her plan had worked, she had made him laugh.

Zuko was kneeling on the right end of the courtyard, Azula kneeling on the left end. At the same time, both rose and turned. Brother against sister. Fire versus lightening.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother," the girl said, psychotic fire already building around her hands.

The Prince, already in the prefect starting stance, smirked. "No, you're not."

Azula smiled and then assumed a more awkward pose, one that surprised the spirit. From a woman who assumed that perfection was the key to life, she was being sloppy and miscalculated. Maybe this was the reason that Zuko assumed he could beat his sister. She then spun and thrust her palm out, shooting a blast of blue flame at Zuko. He brought his hands up, jumped forward, and brought his arms down in front of him, bending two waves of flame in each hand that came together and shot forward.

Blue and orange flames collided into a wall of fire that surprised even the spirit. As the flames dissipated, Azula leaped forward on a jet of fire and kicked forward, flames spouting from her feet. She performs three spinning kicks, sending out wave after wave of fire.

Throughout the fight, each pushed back and forth, neither getting the advantage. Azula was all over the place, Zuko more controlled, but not much more so. At one point, Zuko set fire to the entire plaza.

Amateratsu fought with other, older spirits that wanted to take over her daughter's human vessel. It was her time to be there, her legacy. Even Emiko was trying to break through, overly-worried about the boy-man in front of her vessel.

She stared hard at the sweating, burning form of the Prince. He was attractive, that was for sure—and he obviously cared for Emiko. Amaterasu felt the need to actually be there, in the flesh, to meet this boy. She wanted to be there at Emiko's wedding and hold her grandbabies, because staring down from Agni's kingdom wasn't the same as actually being there. She wanted to ruffle the Prince's hair and see the golden eyes he would give to her grandbabies.

Wincing as Azula shot off a rather impressive bolt of lightening and singeing off a little of that hair of Zuko's, Amaterasu lamented at the loss of a great bender to the world. The girl could have been one of the best, if not for being completely _insane._ She and her father, Ozai, had been watched non-stop since Agni had proclaimed their fates, along with Emiko's.

Amaterasu didn't blame her daughter for killing her. After she had arrived at the divine kingdom, she'd learned that everything had its place and time, even mortal form's demise. Emiko had meant to go down that path, in order to become the woman she currently was. She was meant to be at that exact place in time, watching the second-most important fight in the past century.

Suddenly, a blast came towards her face. She ducked and turned a glare at the girl-woman Azula, who was laughing maniacally. "_Amaterasu_," she spat out bitingly as she blocked three balls of fire sent to knock her off balance, sent from her brother. "You may be divine, but I bet that body of yours isn't!"

Amaterasu could feel the fire walls around them rising to the point of melting the gold that was sewn throughout them. Her anger fueled even Zuko's fire, who used the increase in energy to his advantage. "_I would moreso worry about your _own_ body, girl!_"

Rage flew through Azula's eyes like the inferno around them. "Who are you calling girl?! That body you inhabit is younger than I! I will soon be the Fire Lady!"

_'Keep her talking,'_ a voice sounded inside the vessel's brain. Amaterasu realized that it was Emiko, who had given up trying to reclaim her body. '_The angrier she gets, the sloppier.'_

"_You gave up your title when you lost your mind,_" Amaterasu laughed, having to dodge more walls of fire sent her way. Azula was fighting two people, almost—Amaterasu wasn't fighting back, but Zuko was definitely using it to his advantage. Azula was losing her balance and falling back and Zuko was advancing. "_Zuko will become Fire Lord and, I assume, will take my daughter as his Lady."_

"The slut?!" Azula screamed, throwing her entire body into a move. Her body skated along the ground, like a comet, and moved so fast towards Zuko that he barely had time to move out of the way. He rolled away, his sister coming to a stop by hitting the rock walls of the plaza. She came out of the crater she'd created and looked left and right, disoriented. "She can't even properly bear a child!"

Amaterasu felt the waves of anger and agony coming over her, not her own. She wasn't used to the emotions of a human vessel, so she shuddered and tried to push her daughter back further into her mind. _"Petty jabs will not win you this Agni Kai. I do believe that I am a little biased, anyway."_

Zuko's fire whips caught Azula around the ankle. He flung her to the opposite side of the arena, her screams ringing out from the fire vortex she was caught in. "You can't do that!"

'_Can you do that?'_ Emiko thought, bitterness in her thoughts.

"_Sure I can,_" Amaterasu replied, watching Azula's face awaken in horror from her position on the ground.

The girl went crazy, after that. Her shots rang wildly around, never quite making any target besides the walls around them. The foundation of the plaza started to crumble and fall apart, sending tremors through the earth that uprooted her footing even more than her frenzy had already done.

She was so insane and furious that a shot was fired that she wasn't able to block from her brother. She was hit hard, making her roll across the ground. Her gasp came from across the room before she collapsed, passed out, against the tile. No blood poured from her inanimate form, as the wound had cauterized instantly. Rubble collapsed on top of her body.

Amaterasu then just happened to set fire to the pile of wood, stone, and girl...not bothering to feel any human emotions from it. "_My daughter is not a slut, you bitch._"

Zuko fell to his knees as he looked at the makeshift funeral pyre, his eyes holding more emotions than Amaterasu held in her entire body. "It's...it's over?" He said it as a question, not quite believing that his crazy sister was dead and that he was now Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.

The divine spirit forged a new crown for him to wear—it was gold and larger than a crown price would wear, more like the Fire Lord's. But it signified so much more.

She walked over to where her future son-in-law was kneeling and looked down upon him. His hair was still in a messy knot, so she fixed it and set the burning gold symbol on his head. "_This signifies that the kingdom of Agni and the Sun Spirit vouch for your right to the throne. Your father has been denounced and your sister disgraced and killed."_

His molten gold eyes looked up to hers, then, and she could see why her daughter had fallen for this man. Even with that scar on his face, taken in a battle of her own divine creation, he was handsome, full of courage, and surely could put up with the life of a spirit's mate. One pale hand made its way up to the crown and gingerly touched it, not quite believing it was there. "Why me?"

Amaterasu smiled gently, as she would to her own child, and gently caressed his cheek. "_Because you are good, Zuko. You are good, courageous, and do the right thing. You have more right to rule than most men, and you know how to do it._"

The prince shook his head and stood up, turning his back to her and running his hands through his hair. "But I just killed my sister..."

"_If I recall, I did that, actually," _she said, not really feeling bad about it. "_She needed to die, Zuko. There was no other way."_

He laughed and looked up to the sky, settling with putting his nervous hands in his pockets. "Ironic. Tell that to Aang, then. He's fighting my father right now."

Amaterasu tried to listen in to the other spirits, but all of them had pulled back. Even Emiko was completely silent up in the eternal kingdom. "_I know nothing of how the Avatar is fairing at the moment. All I know is that you have completed your task and you must leave him to his._"

The prince finally turned around and looked her in the eye again. He looked a mixture of sad and ashamed as he looked at her, also, uncomfortable. "Will...ah, will Emiko be back soon?"

Although slightly peeved that this boy wanted to rush her out of her only time in over ten years of being in a human vessel, she knew how much it meant to the boy to see his love. "_I am not sure. I'm not exactly an expert on this._"

She was surprised to be attacked in a hug. The boy stuffed his face in her neck and she forgot in her surprise to hug him back, but only for a moment. He was shaking but not crying. Amaterasu just wrapped her arms around the boy and hugged him close, running her fingers over his back, never saying anything. She just stared at the funeral pyre that was rising to the sunset-infused sky with a black smog.

She lost feeling of her vessel, the feelings, the sights, the smells, all becoming less clear. She felt herself kissing this boy, Emiko's elated tears falling down the vessel's face, her hands digging in his hair. His lips were rough and cracked from the heat and he tasted of fire salts, but even that faded away. The last thing she heard with her mortal ears was, "It's over, Zuko...it's over!"


	40. Revelation

**Well, it's been a blast, guys! Enjoy the last chapter of DotS!**

* * *

**Epilogue**

There were no interruptions.

I could hear a butter-bird outside, flitting its wings as it looked for nectar. I could hear the leaves rustling against their branches; feel the life force of each and every bud as it tried to grow. The one smell that stood out above all others was the aroma of ginseng tea: Iroh was here. The pollen of a narcissus flower blew in through my open window and around the room. I willed it away so as not to disturb me.

It did as I pleased.

I could feel the sun on my back as it shone in through my window. It gave me power. It gave me the absolute control over my senses. Sometimes even my surroundings.

Like the pollen in the air. I just thought about it leaving me alone and it did. I had no idea what these powers were. When I told Iroh about them, he just smiled like it was natural. Which is exactly what he said.

I was the Spirit of the Sun. Or would be, later. Without the "sun" nothing could survive. So if I wanted something natural to happen—besides messing with the elements—it would. My mother, the wonderful woman that she was, was in the Spirit World, watching over everyone, keeping the Firebenders full of life.

My state of meditation was almost complete. I just had to concentrate on calming my aura and then… But I would never concentrate on it, because my two-hour long rumination would be interrupted.

It was just then that my wall exploded in a blast of fire and dust…and a small girl. She flew so hard—even after breaking through the pure stone—that she cracked the wall on the other side of the room.

Angry yellow eyes look up as her teeth bared themselves. I could've sworn that a hiss escaped, but I tried not to think about it.

_I'm in my happy place… _I kept thinking. _You're in you're happy place._

She got up and dusted herself off, bitterly mumbling under her breath about her father and how her brother distracted her and a few things that made me want to smile and say, 'that's my girl.' But I kept quite, knowing that she wouldn't even pause to look at her damage or see if anyone was around.

Well, so much for calming my aura. My senses were on high alert, even though I was trying to get them to understand that it was only Zoë, and that she was just practicing with her father.

I tried to picture her in my mind as to make my body calm down. Her face was almost a replica of mine, but she had Zuko's cheekbones and his long, thin hair. She was tall like him as well, leaner than I was, but just as deadly. She tilted her long nose in the air and stormed back out in a blaze of fire. Long, straight black hair put up in a ponytail. In it she kept the symbol of a princess of the Fire Nation.

Finally I was calm. I opened my eyes and instantly wished I hadn't—

My meditation room was completely destroyed. The wall to my right had a huge hole in it, and the one to my left was still crumbling from where a tiny body had left an indent.

I sighed.

Being a mother was so troubling.

I got up and dusted the pieces of brick off of my back, then walked out the hole in the wall. It was then that I saw the extent of the damage. The whole hallway outside my room was collapsed or collaps_ing_, while the training room was showing in full view.

Inside, Zuko had his back to me. He had his shirt off, his muscles bulging as he concentrated hard on something that I couldn't see. Then he dodged something, and that something was a long stream of blazing white-hot fire. It blasted through the hole were I was standing and was coming straight for me.

I simply waved my hand and the fire disappeared. Looking up, I saw the person who had shot it. Of course I already knew. It was my daughter Zoë. She was in her training uniform, just a tube top and some baggy pants. She had kicked off her boots, which were lying on the floor by the hole in the wall. Small cuts and burns covered her body, while huge bruises covered her fair, ghost-like skin.

This observation had only taken a second in real time. I tuned back into the fight and watched as Zuko rolled out of his dodge. Meanwhile, Zoë was wondering why her powerful fire blast had been terminated. She was distracted for a moment.

The Fire Lord took advantage of this. He instantaneously stood up and sent a blast at her so powerful that I could feel the heat from where I was standing thirty yards away.

Zoë's eyes widened. She tried to give a replying shot, but she ran out of time. The fire was upon her. She stood her ground, though, and waited for whatever was coming, a frown of disapproval on her face.

The fire suddenly dispersed, and then Zuko was standing in front of her. He crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down on her with a smug smile that she returned with a grimace. "I think you did better that time," Zuko said, trying to keep back a chuckle.

Zoë rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Right."

The edges of his mouth quivered. "No, I'm serious. You got so close to me that I swear the hair on my arms was burned. I swear."

"Whatever," she snorted, turning away with a burst of smoke. Zuko immediately followed her, a look of worry and guilt on his face. "I'm so sick and tired of all of this training! Teach me the real moves, Dad! I can't beat you like this!"

"_Zoë_," Zuko sighed as if this happened all the time.

She stormed right by without even seeing me. I sighed as well. She was trying so hard to master Firebending, but it didn't come naturally to her like it had me. I gazed after her longingly, wishing that she would be happy for once. She had grown up in such a nice life, with nothing to hurt her but whatever she fell on inside the capitol.

Zuko came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He leaned down to kiss my bare shoulder, sighing. My skin tingled from his warm embrace. His bare chest on my back, his lips going up my neck...

"She works so hard…" he whispered against my skin. "…I don't like to see her fail."

I fell into his sweet embrace, letting him run his hands up my sides. "She's not failing," I mumbled. "She's just having trouble." My eyes snapped open when I remembered _why _she was having trouble and I pulled away from him. "But I don't think that she would be having as _much_ trouble if you weren't pushing her so hard."

He held a firm look on his face and he crossed his arms. There was no smug smile now, only a decisive frown. "She needs to be pushed, Emiko. You know that more than I do."

A scene popped into my head, and I raised an eyebrow at it. "Push her so hard that she flies through a wall? _Two_ walls?"

Zuko's demeanor faltered, but only for a second. "She didn't fly through two walls at one time, she just…fell for the same trick twice."

I sighed and mopped my face with my hand. "_Zuko_…you can't _do_ that to her! She's fifteen, for crying out loud!" I turned away from him and crossed my arms across my chest.

He smirked and wrapped his arms around me from behind again. "I remember when _you_ were fifteen as well…" he chuckled into my ear. "It didn't stop you from kicking _my_ ass."

"She's different than me. I didn't grow up like a pampered Princess, I grew up in the world. And at least I kept fighting. Did you see what she did when she knew she lost? She just _stood_ there! Like she knew that she wasn't going to win in the first place! I don't want our daughter to be so hard on herself, I mean _look_ at her, Zuko! She's—"

The Fire Lord quieted me with a large hand over my mouth. "Calm down! All I was saying was that she needs practice. You had yours, now it's her turn."

I sighed. "I guess you're right… But," I cleared my voice and pulled away, dusting myself off, "it's almost time to go. Kalisto will be here shortly, so you'd better go get dressed. Hmm." I looked down at myself. I was wearing one of my old pregnancy kimonos that hadn't fit me for over fifteen years. It was tattered and stained, now with added dirt and dust and sweat. "I guess I had better change too."

He smirked and took my hand, leading me down the hallways of the castle. It was magnificent still after twenty years. I remembered the fight, the Day of Black Sun. How the castle had looked when I'd first gotten there. So much had changed. So much was still the same.

He opened a set of double doors to our bedroom. It still looked the same from our wedding night, seeing as how I hadn't wanted to change it at all. I wanted to remember Zuko, not his father. I didn't want to have to be like his mother, either.

My husband went to the wardrobe and opened it, throwing clothes out. A pair of pants hit me in the face. I almost chastised him, then realized that the man was picking out his own clothes—how could I scold him? Zuko then managed to grab some of his old traveling garb and lay it out. I was just surprised that he had picked out something that matched.

Sighing, I went to my closet and looked inside. Nothing was going to do, I was sure. I couldn't wear any of my elaborate clothing that I wore around the capitol.

I groaned in defeat. The Fire Lord came up behind me and gave me a questioning look. I mopped my hand over my face and leaned back on him. "Look what I've become…"

His look was the same, but now he was worried. "What?"

I gestured to the frills and lace in my closet. "Has it been that long? Am I really that…_spoiled_?" I grit my teeth. "I've spent so long in the Fire Nation that I've forgotten all of the stuff I used to do! I mean, I used to climb trees and plunder things, and I never seemed to care about my clothing. But oh, do I _now_! When I need to make the right impression, I actually have the right clothes. When I want to hang out with old friends, I actually have _nothing._"

He gave me a sly smirk. "Was that all? I figured you were still pissed from my training experiment."

I was glad that he reminded me. "Yes, I _am_! But that's not the biggest problem right now."

"Then what _is_?"

A sigh escaped my lips, and I wanted to be like Sokka and palm my forehead. "…What will I _wear_?!"

**Kalisto**

Kalisto petted the giant red dragon that had been so kind as to bring her home. "Thank you, Ran. I can never tell you how much you mean to me."

_And you, I, _the motherly tone said, gently, into her mind. _You must take care not to—_

"I know, Ran. I know."

An annoyed sound came from behind her, and she turned to see an almost twin dragon—the only difference being the blue scales—looking at her with an indignant face. _Do not forget me,_ he thought in his deep, gravelly...voice? Was it technically called a voice when it spoke into your mind? He nudged her in the side, demanding attention.

"Oh, Shaw, I'd never forget you!" She wrapped her arms around both of their heads and felt like crying. They had been there for her when no one else had.

While she was away, she had stumbled upon an ancient kingdom. Well, not so much stumbled as _crashed the family hot air balloon_, but you get the point. And then…well, she promised not to tell what went on there. But in the end, she met with Ran and Shaw and befriended them with her knowledge. The offered a ride back, and she made it just in time.

The other hot air balloon to take her to the Western Air Temple was being packed and ready to leave.

Sighing, the Princess patted Ran and Shaw on the cheek once each. "Thank you. Thank you both. You've taught me so much."

They nudged her affectionately, almost seeming to purr. _Why leave, you can stay with us, _they both said, their large heads keeping her from moving. _You are the only human we have ever trusted fully. You are the only one we know who would stay._

"I know, I know, it's just that—"

A surprised gasp stopped her. She looked up to see her mother and father standing in the archway, gazing upon the dragons.

A side effect was that Mother was the one who had made the gasp, and along with it a pale face. "Ka…K-Kalisto, what are you…who…" She leaned against Father and took deep breaths. "_Ran_…and _Shaw_."

Shaw, the blue one, made a deep snarling noise in the back of its throat. It advanced slowly, it's snarling lips pried open to show giant, sharpened teeth. _Emiko...Sun Spirit..._

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Kalisto cried. She quickly stepped in between them and gave a confused look to her mother, then to the giant blue dragon. "Um…Mother? Do you guys know each other?"

Emiko took a step back. "Sh-Shaw…I hope that…that there's no…um, hard feelings between us." She clutched Zuko's kimono sleeve and looked to become even more pale than she was already.

The red dragon came around and hissed at both Zuko _and_ Emiko, making them back up. _You dare have to ask, Spirit? _ Ran's whiskers angrily twitched, one of them pushing Kalisto backwards. _Where is your heir? Is she born?_

"Y-yes, I've already had the next in the Sun…" She paused and looked at Kalisto with fright. "In the…_line_," Emiko mumbled, looking as white as a sheet.

Suddenly Ran rushed forwards, knocking her parents to the ground. It stood over them, shouting, _Then the next is here! The next shall have her turn!_

"Ran, no! I promise you, I haven't done anything else wrong since I met you!"

"ENOUGH!" their daughter cried, throwing her hands up in the air to keep from reducing them all to cinders. "You guys…what's wrong with all of you?! Ran, Shaw, please stop!"

They looked back on her with judging yellow eyes, then back at her mother and father. A low growling, almost like an annoyed mumble, came to her, and then they stepped away. Ran nuzzled her side once more, then moved towards Shaw and nodded. _For you, little one._

Shaw sighed and moved more away, bitterly grumbling under his breath. He turned and nuzzled the girl once more before both of them, looking at each other, growled, _This time, only, Spirit. _They then turned and jumped off of the loading docks, spreading their wings and flying gracefully into the wind.

Kalisto waved to them until they were out of sight, then sighed in happiness and turned to her parents. They were staring at her, wide-eyed, holding their breaths while holding each other.

Finally, she opened her arms and exclaimed, "I'm home!"

**Emiko**

I wanted to faint. No—not faint. I wanted to scream and rant and fall down and die and then be resurrected and then do it all over again.

"What…!" I took a deep breath in order to calm down, but it was all in vain. "What in the world were you doing with Ran and Shaw?" I asked between my teeth.

"Mom, don't get so—!" She was caught off guard when I barreled into her, hugging the life out of the slender body that she had. "Whoa, mom, I swear that it's all fine!"

"But…_why_?! I've already been through so much with them, and now…" I looked up when a sudden thought hit me. "They don't want to kill you, do they?!"

She looked at me as if I were a two-headed-kimono-rhino. "…You…are…so… Spirits, mom, you're horrible!" She started laughing as if she couldn't stop.

In truth, I was confused. I figured that Ran and Shaw still held a grudge against me, seeing as how they wanted to destroy me, and they weren't able to at the time. So now they were, what, trying to destroy my first born daughter? "Something's not right. Why would they…?"

"Mom, they _helped_ me."

Zuko stepped forwards and pulled me away from our daughter. "And they helped you by…" He let it drop.

Though I knew the answer even before she answered. "They…showed me the true source of Firebending."

It was then that my head hit the floor, and I blackened out.

**Zoë**

"Spirits, Kalisto, what did you _do_?" Zoë wanted to know. She helped haul her mother up onto the bed inside of the hot air balloon and then draped the blanket over her.

Kalisto smiled sheepishly. "_Well_…"

"You made our mother faint." Senshi sighed in disgust and shook his head. He was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and looking at their mother with perplexed eyes. "I can't believe you'd do that. Well…I can't believe _how_ you'd do that."

"Yeah!" Zoë let out a short laugh, falling backwards into a chair. "Mom's freaking amazing! I can't _believe_ that you had news so big that you made her fall straight down!" Suddenly she had a serious look on her face and she leaned forwards, clearing her voice. "So…uh…what exactly did you do to make her keel over?"

Kalisto looked petrified. "Don't talk like that!" She looked towards Mother and then back at Zoë and whispered, "You make it sound like I _killed_ her!"

"Riiiight…so, what, fail a test? Bun in the oven?"

Though her older sister wasn't usually prone to violence, Zoë did occasionally get on everyone's nerves. Kalisto tightened her fist and glared daggers at her.

A chuckle came from outside the room, and all of them turned towards it. Their father was standing right behind Senshi, looking exactly the same except that the older, taller one had a scar on his left eye.

_Wow_, Zoë thought. _I never really realized how much Senshi looked like Father._

"Might as well have killed her," Father said as he scooted past his eldest child and put a hand on Kalisto's shoulder. "You really, _truly _scared her, Kalisto. That was the second time I've seen her that scared, but the first time I've seen her faint. Not counting when she was pregnant" He leaned down closer and looked into her eyes. "And I've known your mother for a long time."

As Zuko leaned over his eldest daughter, Zoë wanted to look away. …_Has Kali always looked like him too? _She shook her head and laughed at herself. _Spirits, I'm being paranoid. Of course I look like my father, too. ...Right? _She looked at her mother and smiled. _Well, I guess I have to get my good looks from __**somewhere**__. _"So…even though mom's dead as a doornail, we're still leaving, right?"

Father gave her a stern look that made her stick out her tongue. "Now, Zoë, you know better. Kali didn't kill her, she just shocked her when she came home with two _dragons_." He gave a fake smile.

_TO THE ABYSS! _Though she wouldn't say that out loud. "Agni, _you_ saw a _dragon_?!" She paused as the whole family looked at her like she was crazy. "No, no, let me rephrase that. You saw _TWO_ dragons?!" Her chest was heaving from this information.

"Yup. I just…_found _them the other day." After giving Zuko a meaningful look, Kali smiled, but behind it Zoë could tell that something wasn't right. She was keeping something from all of them.

But it was then that a thought hit her, and she felt like doing a Sokka palm to the forehead. _Oh. It's another one of __**those**__ things. _"…You've got to talk to Mom or Senshi about this, don't you?" Zoë sighed.

Kali kept the smile on her face, that same, fake smile that made Zoë want to puke. It was the same smile that she, Mother, Father, Brother, even Uncle _Iroh_ used over and over whenever the _little Princess _wanted to know about her fire, or her mother's fire, or the reason why she wasn't allowed to leave without guards. _Ever._

But of course, everyone would put those smiles on their faces and say, "_We'll tell you when you're older."_

_Pah, it's all crap. _"Whatever. '_You'll tell me when I'm older.'_" She rolled her eyes and got up, moseying out of the room while her family talked in low tones about her and dragons.

**Senshi**

Senshi shook his head. "I can't believe you had to lie to her _again_." He hated keeping so many things from her. He hated knowing of his mother's fate. He hated all of the things that Zoë had to do that none of the others ever did. But most of all, he hated all of the pain and suffering that his little sister would have to go through.

"Well, we can't exactly tell her the _truth_," came a mumble that wasn't there a few moments ago. Senshi looked over in surprise to see his mother sitting up, holding her head and squinting her eyes from pain.

"Mother, don't sit up!" Senshi cried. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to push her back down, but she slapped his hands away multiple times.

"Damn it, Senshi," she growled, pushing him away. "Quit being a mother hen!"

He froze with a look of indecision on his face. Then he cleared his throat and crossed his arms, looking away with blush creeping up his cheeks. He didn't mean for it to, it just did that sometimes when someone said something along the lines of him being feminine.

Zuko chuckled. "Don't worry, Senshi. She does that to me too."

Emiko angrily grimaced at her husband. "This isn't the time to talk about what we do and don't do. Right _now_…" She looked at Kali, who smiled in embarrassment.

The Fire Lord sighed. "Emiko, I told you that we should've told these two about the Masters."

"But we promised to keep it a _secret_."

"Well we never suspected that one of them would actually _find_ them."

"But _she _did." Looks were cast in Kalisto's direction.

"It's not my fault! We can't exactly _change _the past!"

"OKAY ENOUGH!" Kali shouted, showing her family trait of anger. Emiko and Zuko and even Senshi, who was rarely surprised, looked at the eldest Princess of the Fire Nation with wide eyes. "I already know all of it, alright?! Tell Senshi! Uncle Iroh already knows! Just don't tell _Zoë_. She'll get some kind of wild idea and then pursue it and I _saw _what happened between Mom and Ran, and if that is the greeting that Zoë would get then I don't _want_ her to know a-and…!"

Emiko tiredly got up during this rampage and gently wrapped an arm around her child's shaking shoulders even though she herself was shorter. She pulled her close, rubbing her back in a loving, soothing manner. "Don't beat yourself up so, daughter."

Kalisto shuddered. "I-I was only going there for study. I-I have to do a report on the origins of F-Firebending, a-and I figured that the Sun Warriors would be the best people to ask about that. Uncle told me the story by mail a-and…"

The story went on and on, containing things that made Senshi chuckle at the fakeness. But, according to his parent's pale and stern faces, this all was true.

Throughout the story, his forehead creased further and further down. Things like, '_there was this egg thing, golden, even, and I picked it up,' _and_, 'some kind of green stuff flew out of the grates and stuck me to the wall, but I clutched the egg!'_ then, '_guys in weird tribal garb found me and picked me up and something was licking me—gosh, that was so gross!—and I saw that it was anteater hounds,'_ made his frown turn downward even more.

"So…you actually _took_ the gem?" Zuko asked incredulously, clenching the back of Senshi's chair.

"No, um…they kinda gave it to me." Kalisto turned around and grabbed a large opaque container, bringing it to sit on her lap. She opened the top of the cylinder, parting several pieces of a thick, blanket looking material. And then she pulled it out.

It was beautiful, a giant golden egg, that sent rays of light in several directions. Different markings surrounded it, making it _look_ like a gem, but everyone could tell that it was an egg.

A sudden thud sounded, and Emiko was once more on the ground.

**Emiko**

"I'm so sorry Mom!" Kalisto cried for the millionth time in a row. She put her hands together as if to beg for forgiveness. Which she was, but I was getting a headache right about then.

"_Enough_, Kalisto," I begged. I gingerly massaged my temples, wishing that the headache would go away. _**Kalisto **__is the headache right now_, I thought bitterly. "I already said that it was fine."

"But it _isn't_ fine! I can't believe I made you faint _again_!" Her face was covered in tears, and I pulled her close. She leaned her head on my shoulder as we both sat on the bed, and I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Kalisto…" I hummed soothingly, rocking her back and forth gently. "It's fine. I promise. It's just that…"

She sniffled and said, "I know. Father already told me."

My eyes rolled. Somehow I knew that Zuko would be the one to leak the secret. "So…you know everything?"

"Just the fact that you went there and went through the same things I did. But… Ran was adverse to you, and Shaw wasn't too happy. And they wanted to kill you. Yeah, he left out that part but after today I can pretty much reason _that_ much out. I didn't go to college for nothing, Mother. Believe it or not, Republic City is beautiful."

I gave her a look, making her shrug.

"But, you being the…" She caught herself and cleared her throat, looking around for her little sister. She lowered her voice and said, "_You know_…well, they couldn't actually kill you."

_So he did tell her all of it. _

I shrugged it off, seeing as how everyone in the royal family _but_ my youngest daughter knew of all of the Spirit business, and looked to my daughter lovingly. "As long as you're safe, Kali…that's all that I care about."

She smiled. "Thanks, Mom." Kalisto looked around the small room and stood, stretching and kneading her fists into her lower back. "Well, you should probably get some more rest."

A frown marred my face. "I've spent most of my life _resting_. I would like to go outside." I tried to get up, but Kalisto moved to stop me.

"_Mother…_" she warned. But I took her warning as far as I could throw her. Kalisto didn't have a drop of meanness in her.

But I scowled and flopped down on the bed, noticing just how tired I actually was. "Alright, then," I said before a part of my pirate life suddenly came back to me. "But on one condition."

"Yes?"

"Bring me the gem—err—egg."

Her eyes suddenly turned professional, no doubt from the mind washing-teachers at the Republic City University. "I can't let you do that and you know it." She'd changed, definitely. My little girl was all grown up, creating new technologies and burying her hands in gizmos to build a new generation.

But she was still my daughter. My daughter who looked an awful lot like her father. "What I _do_ know is that my daughter is talking back to me." She flinched and bit her lower lip, worrying it with her teeth. "Give me the egg, Kalisto."

Sighing, she surrendered with a slump. "Al_right_." She was always a good girl, and it showed as she exited the room. She never usually argued with me or her father unless it was something she believed in.

Soon the egg was in my grasp, seeming to slightly glow as I held it, and I lay down on the bed to rest once more. I felt it move, felt it meld with my soul, and I knew that what I held was one of the most important things in history.

I was going to get that dragon my mother always wanted.


End file.
